Harry Potter and Claire Smith Adventures: Book Three
by Mykala Marie
Summary: The third installment in the series titled Guilty Until Proven Innocent. A mass murderer escapee from Azkaban, Sirius Black, is said to be after Claire Smith and Harry Potter. Join the Golden Quartet as they uncover the truth behind Sirius Black as well as Claire's parents' heritage.
1. Mr Weasley's Wonderful News

Chapter 1: Mr. Weasley's Wonderful News

When Claire, Ron, Fred, George, Ginny, Percy, and Mrs. Weasley arrived at the Burrow, they found news reporters standing outside their house.

"What's going on?" Fred said.

"You'll find out soon." Mrs. Weasley said.

They pushed through the crowd of news reporters.

"How do you feel about winning?" asked one of the news reporters.

"What did we win, mum?" George asked.

"No comment." Mrs. Weasley said.

They managed to get inside the Burrow without the news reporters coming in. Mrs. Weasley shut the door and glared at Mr. Weasley. He was sitting in the living room drinking a cup of tea.

_"ARTHUR WEASLEY!"_ Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, causing everyone to plug their ears._ "I SPECIFICALLY TOLD YOU NOT TO LET THOSE NEWS PEOPLE COME HERE UNTIL AFTER WE TELL THE CHILDREN!"_

"Tell us what?" Ron questioned.

"Yes, can someone tell us what's going on?" Claire said.

"Come sit." Mr. Weasley told them.

Everyone sat in the living room.

"Well," Mr. Weasley began, "I found out today that we're the winners of the _Daily Prophet's Grand Prize Galleon Draw_!"

"No way!" The children replied bursting with excitement.

"What are you going to do with the money?" Ginny asked.

"You'll probably use it to pay off some debts." Percy said.

"Boring!" The twins said in unison.

"You'll buy a bigger house!" Ron said.

"No, we're all going to Egypt!" Mr. Weasley exclaimed.

It was silent for a few seconds.

"Why are we going to Egypt?" Ginny asked.

"We thought we'd take a holiday to Egypt to visit your brother Bill." Mrs. Weasley said.

"Egypt sounds cool." Claire said, liking the idea. "You know, I heard they have some particularly nasty jinxes on the tombs there."

Fred and George seemed excited about this.

"Then it's settled. We'll be going in a few weeks." Mrs. Weasley then turned to Arthur. "Now, go take care of those reporters."

"Yes, Molly, dear," Mr. Weasley opened the front door and was greeted by several flashing camera lights.

"Mr. Weasley, what are you going to do with all your winnings?" asked one of the news reporters.

"My family and I are going to Egypt!" Mr. Weasley said with a smile.

* * *

><p><em>Well, I would say this is more of a teaser for the third book than a chapter. The next chapter will be about their time in Egypt. <em>

_Reply to Reviews from Book Two:_

_NicoleR85: Carina will definitely be a 'Mama Bear' whenever she returns. I'm not saying when she's returning though._

_Rainpelt the Doctor: I'm glad you liked it! I feel the say about going back to school. I'm dreading having to wake up early in the morning. I'm counting the days until summer._


	2. The Talk and Egypt

Chapter 2: The Talk and Egypt

Weeks had passed since Mr. Weasley had won seven hundred galleons in the Daily Prophet's Grand Prize Galleon Draw. Tomorrow was the day they would be leaving for Egypt and the whole household was bursting with excitement. Everyone was planning to pack today so all they'd have to do tomorrow is use the Floo Powder to get to Egypt. When Claire and Ginny woke up, they got dressed and went downstairs to the kitchen. As they entered the kitchen, they saw everyone was already eating.

Erroll, the Weasleys' owl, flew into the kitchen, landing on the floor.

"Claire, be a dear and get the post will you?" Mrs. Weasley asked Claire.

"Sure." Claire picked up the owl and put him on his perch outside. She took the letters from him and looked through the stack. There were several for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and one each for herself and Ron. She handed the letters to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Ron. Claire then opened hers. It was from Harry.

_Dear Claire, _

_Well, I guess I've kept the House-elves away from my mail because I received your letter. Ron also told me that you're going to Egypt. Did you hear Hermione's going to France for the summer? I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous. I hope you enjoy your vacation in Egypt. _

_Your friend,_

_Harry_

_P.S. Don't call me on the telephone. Uncle Vernon still hasn't forgotten when you and Ron called me the other week. _

As Claire read the P.S., she remembered last week when Ron and her had called Harry and Ron was literally yelling into the phone instead of talking normally. Harry's uncle wasn't too happy with that. Claire smiled slightly at the amusing memory.

"What are you smiling about?" Fred asked curiously.

Suddenly, George appeared behind Claire.

"How did you-you were just there and-HEY!" George snatched the letter from her hands.

"Oh, that's why. Look, Fred." George handed the letter to Fred.

"Hmmm, it seems we'll have to have a word with Harry when we see him again, George." Fred said.

"Why? He just sent me a letter." Claire said utterly confused.

"Exactly, it all starts with a letter. It seems you'll have competition Ginny." George said.

"No, I won't. I don't like Harry anymore." Ginny replied.

"When did that happen?" Ron asked with his mouth full of food.

"Ronald Weasley! Do not talk with your mouth full!" Mrs. Weasley scolded him as she placed a few sausage links on Ginny's plate.

"Well, when we came back on the train, I actually talked to him and I realized I didn't like him in that way anymore." Ginny said. "Besides I think Claire and Harry would make a cute couple."

"Couple? Hold on-what?" Claire was flabbergasted. "We're just friends."

"Yea, Harry's definitely your friend. Your _boyfriend_." Fred snickered.

"I'm lost what exactly are we talking about?" Ron questioned.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head ickle Ronniekins," George teased.

"What's this about Harry being your boyfriend, Claire?" Mrs. Weasley questioned placing a few slices of toasts on her plate.

"Harry's not my boyfriend. He is my friend._ Just_ my friend." Claire clarified.

"Yikes, Harry's been sent to the friendzone, George." Fred whispered to George, but loud enough for Claire to hear. She sent them a glare.

"Have I given you and Ron the talk yet?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

The kitchen was utterly silent at that moment. Claire knew exactly what Mrs. Weasley was talking about and by the looks of the others they also knew. Claire hoped that she wasn't actually going to talk about it.

"I think Ron and I know all about that stuff. Right, Ron?" Claire said, praying Ron would realize what was about to happen.

"What stuff?" Ron questioned.

Claire groaned.

"Well, I think we should talk about this." Mrs. Weasley told them. "Fred, George you've already had this conversation with me so you may leave. And Ginny you're too young for this talk so you may leave as well. Go ahead and start packing for tomorrow."

They didn't hesitated to leave. They rushed upstairs within a few seconds.

"Traitors." Claire muttered.

Ron must have just realized what was about to happen because he said to his mom, "Mum, I don't think we're at the right age to talk about this."

"Nonsense, you're the right age. Right, Arthur? Arthur?" Mrs. Weasley turned to her husband and saw he had put on his coat and was by the front door, hand on the doorknob. "Where are you going?"

"Oh, um," he smiled sheepishly, embarrassed that he was caught in the act. "I have several things to take care of in the shed before we leave tomorrow. Sorry, Molly, dear."

Before Mrs. Weasley could stop him, he had practically sprinted out the front door.

"Ron, we were ditched by your whole family." Claire muttered to him.

"She's not really going to give us 'the birds and bees' talk, is she?" Ron hoped she wouldn't.

"That's exactly what's going to happen." Claire muttered.

Mrs. Weasley sat down in front of them and began to talk. "There comes a time in every person's life that they experience changes-"

For the next mortifying hour, Mrs. Weasley went into details on those exact changes. Claire wished nothing more than to apparate out of the room. Ron seemed to turn a dark shade of red by the time Mrs. Weasley finished.

"And that's how it all works," she finished. "Now, if you have any questions just come to me, alright? You can leave now."

Ron and Claire bounded upstairs as though their lives depended on it. When they reached the level their rooms were on, they saw Fred and George laughing at them.

"Thanks a lot for abandoning us," Claire glared at them.

"Hey, we all had to do go through that." Fred said.

"So, which part was worst the birds or the bees?" George laughed.

"Both." Ron said grimly.

"Did Mum tell you about-" George was cut off by Claire.

"Stop talking about it!" Claire glared at him. "We will not speak of this moment ever again! Got it? Got it!"

Claire walked to her's and Ginny's room. She slammed the door and then sat on her bed.

"Drama queen, much?" Ginny teased Claire as she threw in some of her clothes in her trunk.

Claire glared at Ginny. "You just stole my line. Now I definitely know I've been a horrible influence on you."

Claire got up and opened one of her trunks.

"You know, after Egypt, we'll only have one week of summer left." Claire said, throwing some of her stuff into the trunk.

"That sucks!" Ginny groaned.

"But look on the bright side," Claire began, "at least we'll get to see Bill."

"Yea, I haven't seen him in ages!" Ginny putting the last few things in her trunk. "I bet he has loads of stories to tell us about his work."

"I would imagine so if you're a Curse Breaker at Gringotts Wizarding Bank." Claire said.

They finished packing and then sat in silence for a few moments.

"I wish we could listen to some music." Claire said aloud. "You think your mum will let me bring the radio from the kitchen up here?"

"I don't see why not." Ginny replied.

Claire went downstairs into the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley had just finished cleaning up breakfast when she spotted Claire.

"Oh, hello, Claire," Mrs. Weasley greeted her. "Do you have a question about our conversation earlier-"

"_No!_ I mean, no, Mrs. Weasley." Claire said. "I was going to ask if Ginny and I could borrow your radio to listen to music."

"Of course," Mrs. Weasley took the radio off the counter and put it in Claire's hands. "Just be careful with it, alright?"

"Thank you." Claire went upstairs and back into the bedroom.

She set the radio on the desk in the corner of the room. Claire then turned a few knobs and the radio turned on.

_"You're listening to the WWN Wizarding World Network!"_ said the announcer. _"This next song is from an upcoming band called the Weird Sisters! This is their first single and it's been requested several times today. It's time to ask yourself, can you dance the Hippogriff?"_

The song began to play. The singer's voice was actually good, which surprised Claire seeing as most of the stuff they played on the WWN were people like Celestina Warbeck, who Claire did not like.

"They're amazing!" Ginny said.

"Yea, it's a good song." Claire agreed.

When the song ended the announcer began to speak again.

_"What an incredible band! Now, we here at the WWN station are going to do something a little different. We're going to play some muggle tunes. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the muggle music!"_

_Bohemian Rhapsody_ by Queen blared through the speakers. Claire began to sing the lyrics softly.

_"Too late, my time has come, sent shivers down my spine, body's aching all the time. Goodbye, everybody, I've got to go, gotta leave you all behind and face the truth."_

"You know, Claire," Ginny began. "You have a good voice."

"No, I really can't sing." Claire said.

"Of course, you can. You sounded really good. Accept the compliment and move on, got it?" Ginny replied.

"Geez, I got it," Claire said. "Well, that about does it. All packed and ready to go."

"DINNER!" Mrs. Weasley yelled.

"Just in time to," Ginny said.

Claire turned off the radio and brought it downstairs with her and Ginny. They went into the kitchen and Claire put the radio back in its original position. The boys had just come downstairs and began digging into the food. Mr. Weasley came through the the front door and sat down at the table, eating as well. Claire and Ginny joined them and after dinner ended, they headed upstairs to get some sleep before leaving in the morning.

Mrs. Weasley woke them up at eight in the morning the next day because though Ginny and Claire had finished packing, the boys still had to pack. Mrs. Weasley yelled at the boys for fifteen minutes straight for not being packed. She had made herself go hoarse. Fred, George, and Ron were able to pack in less than fifteen minutes. They dragged their trunks downstairs into the living room. After eating a quick breakfast, they checked to make sure they had all the belongings they needed.

"Are you all positive you haven't left something? Remember you won't be coming home before Hogwarts." Mrs. Weasley said.

"They seem to have everything Molly, dear." Mr. Weasley said. "Now, we'll be Flooing to Egypt. So, this is what you're going to say when it's your turn: Gringotts Wizarding Bank Egypt."

Mr. Weasley went first, then Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, and Claire. When Claire tumbled out of the fireplace with her trunk, she saw that the Gringotts Bank looked exactly like the one in Diagon Alley. She spotted the Weasleys amongst the many people in the bank.

"Why are there so many people at this bank?" Claire muttered to herself as she shoved her way through the crowd to the Weasleys while trying to carry her trunk.

"There you are, Claire," Mr. Weasley said. "Alright, now that we have everyone, let's go check into the hotel and then we'll find Bill."

The moment they stepped out of Gringotts they noticed that the temperature had increased dramatically. The sun's rays were beating down on them as they looked at the scene before them. There were vendors selling various products and people crowding the streets.

"Where exactly in Egypt are we?" Claire asked Mr. Weasley.

"Cairo," Mr. Weasley said. "Oh, there's the hotel! Now, this is a muggle hotel, so try not to draw attention to yourselves."

The building was fairly tall. It was a sandy color and had large double front doors. They climbed the stairs and entered the building. Mr. Weasley went to go check-in while Mrs. Weasley went to go get a few trolleys to carry their belongings to their rooms. After they were checked in, they went to their rooms and unpacked.

"Bill should be meeting us in the hotel lobby soon," Mrs. Weasley said, as they finished packing. "Let's go ahead and go down there."

When they entered the lobby, they spotted the familiar redhead. Bill saw them and waved at them.

"Bill, how are you dear?" Mrs. Weasley smiled brightly and hugged him.

"I'm fine, mum," Bill replied. "Hi, dad,"

"Hello, Bill," Mr. Weasley said. "How's the job going?"

"It's been pretty slow lately," Bill said.

He then spotted Ron, Claire, and Ginny.

"Look at you three," Bill exclaimed. "You've all grown up a lot since I last saw you. How was your first year Ginny?"

"It was uneventful. I made some friends but other than that nothing really happened. Well, except for the whole Chamber of Secrets opening." Ginny replied.

He then turned turned his attention to Ron and Claire.

"I heard all about your adventures the first two years," Bill said. "I've also been told that you two have friended Harry Potter and Claire seems to be more than friends with him."

Claire groaned then rolled her eyes. "Let me guess, the twins said that."

Bill nodded.

"Well, don't listen to them. Harry and I are just friends for the five hundredth time." Claire said annoyed.

"Ok, but if I hear about any relationships, just let them know if they hurt you they have six brothers and a sister to answer to." Bill said.

Claire laughed. "Sure, no problem."

"Well, it's been a while." Bill said to Fred and George.

"I'll say," George said.

"But you know what you can do to make up for not visiting us," Fred began.

"You can take us on a tour of the tombs here." George finished.

Bill raised a eyebrow. "I didn't think you'd be interested in seeing a bunch of old moldy tombs."

"We are. Right, Fred?"

"Right, George."

Claire scoffed. "They only want to see the tombs because of the jinxes in them."

Fred and George glared at her and Claire smiled sweetly back at them.

"That sounds like the Fred and George I remember." Bill said. "Well, we'll actually be visiting the tombs while you're here."

"When?" The twins asked anxiously.

"Tomorrow."

* * *

><p>The next day, the Weasleys and Claire apparated to the Valley of the Kings. Claire was extremely excited. When Hermione heard about her going to Egypt she sent all the books she had about Egypt to Claire via owl. Claire read all about the Valley of the Kings and found it to be extremely interesting. She had seen photos of the Pharaohs' tombs but now she was going to see it in person.<p>

It was a sunny, hot day when they arrived at the Valley of the Kings. Tourists were walking in and out of tombs with their cameras snapping pictures at everything, reminding Claire of Colin Creevey.

"So," Bill began. "Here we are the Valley of the Kings."

Bill motioned to the valley.

"Where're all the tombs? Are they invisible?" Ron asked.

"No," Claire said. "They're underground."

"She's right." Bill said. "The Pharaohs would build their tombs underground because they cost less than constructing the grand pyramids and it would be harder for tomb raiders to steal from their tombs."

"Fascinating," Mr. Weasley said.

"Steal from the tombs?" Fred questioned.

"Why would they want to steal a dead body?" George asked, furrowing his eyebrows in a look of disgust.

"The tombs didn't just house the Pharaoh's body." Claire began. "The tombs had personal belongings of the Pharaoh's which includes clothes, food, pets, and even gold. Most of the tomb raiders just wanted to find the tombs for the gold."

"That's crazy. They're dead. What are they going to do with all that stuff?" Ron asked.

"Well, the Egyptians believed their Pharaohs were Gods. The Pharaohs would have to go through a dangerous journey through the underworld just to get their happy ending. They believed all of their belongings would follow them to the afterlife." Claire answered.

"Well, it seems someone's been doing some research." Bill said.

"My friend Hermione sent me several books on Egypt. Now, can we actually go see one of the tombs?" Claire said.

Bill lead them to one of the entrances to the tombs. There was a plaque on the the entrance wall that said: Tutankhamen's Tomb. As they entered the tomb, they saw colorful drawings and pictures on the walls.

"Tutankhamen's Tomb. Boy Pharaoh. Lived from 1341 B.C to 1323 B.C. Died at age 18." Bill said. "The Muggles here believe that his tomb was cursed because the people who extracted items from it died from mysterious deaths."

"Is the tomb cursed?" Fred asked.

"Yep," Bill said. "Tomb robbers were a big problem back in ancient Egypt so the Pharaohs tried to find some way to prevent them from taking their stuff. They knew just burying them in tombs would't be enough. Thus, witches and wizards would put jinxes and curses on the tombs to prevent them from entering or cursing them if they took items."

"Did it help any?" Claire asked.

"It took a few years for the robbers to stop but as they started to realize bad things were happening to the grave robbers they stopped." Bill said.

"What sort of jinxes and curses were placed on the tombs?" George asked.

"If I tell you, you have to promise not to use them," Bill said.

Claire, Ginny, and Ron explored the tomb while Bill told Fred and George about the jinxes and curses. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were looking at the drawings on the wall while Claire, Ginny and Ron went to another part of the tomb.

"Bill's crazy for telling Fred and George those jinxes," Ron said.

"I know," Claire replied. "we'll have to be careful around them from now on."

They soon entered another part of the tomb. In the middle of the room was a golden sarcophagus decorated with blue, orange, red, and green. As they got closer to the sarcophagus they saw that it looked like a man.

"That's creepy," Ginny said.

"Yea, why does the coffin look like a man?" Ron asked.

"It's a sarcophagus." Claire corrected him. "And it looks like a man because it's supposed to show what the person looked like before they died. The hieroglyphics on the sarcophagus tells us his name."

"The what?" Ron questioned.

"Those picture-like drawings on the side." Claire pointed to the pictures. "That's the Egyptian writing system. They're also on the walls of tomb."

"Why are they on the walls?" Ginny asked, observing one of the hieroglyphics on the walls.

"It's suppose to be a story about the Pharaoh's life. Also, there could be hints on how he should journey through the underworld." Claire answered.

Claire began looking at the walls. One of the wall had six people on it. They seemed to be preparing the Pharaoh's body for the afterlife.

"What are they doing to the Pharaoh?" Ron asked seeing the wall.

"Mummifying him," Claire replied.

"What's that?" Ron asked.

"That's how they preserved the bodies." Claire said. "They took out the liver, lungs, stomach, and intestines and placed them in canopic jars. Then the Egyptians used a long hook to pull the brains out through the nose. The only organ they left in the body was the heart because they believed it to be the center of intelligence and feeling and they'd need it for the afterlife. After they used a salt called natron to dry out the body, they wrapped it in bandages and buried the body in the tomb."

Ron and Ginny grimaced.

"That sounds painful," Ron said.

"You'd be dead when they do it," Claire replied

"Still not the most pleasant thing," Ginny said.

They continued exploring the tomb for several more minutes until Bill and the others found them.

"There you three are," Mrs. Weasley said. "Come along, we're going to visit the pyramids now."

As they walked out of the tomb, Claire stopped when she saw one of the drawings on the walls. It looked to be a blue box with the words Police Public Call Box plastered at the top. She knew she had seen this blue box before. Standing next to the box was a man and a woman. The strange thing about them was that they seemed to be wearing modern day clothes. They were surrounded by Egyptian soldiers pointing their weapons at them. _That's strange._ Claire thought to herself.

"Claire, come on!" Ginny exclaimed.

"I'm coming!" Claire yelled, turning away from the painting.

As she left the tomb, she couldn't help but wonder why that police box and the man and woman in modern clothes were painted in King Tutankhamen's tomb.

* * *

><p>The rest of their stay at Egypt went by pretty fast. They had sailed the Nile River, explored tombs and ruins, rode camels, and even saw the Great Pyramids.<p>

"This was the best vacation ever!" Ginny said, as she packed up her trunk.

"It was the only vacation we've ever had." Claire said, packing up her trunk as well. "But you're right."

There was a knock on the door and Mrs. Weasley came in.

"Are you two ready to go?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

They nodded and soon met up with the rest of the family. They apparated to London where they would stay at the Leaky Cauldron for the final week before going back to Hogwarts. That night at dinner, the Weasleys and Claire ate there. Mr. Weasley had gone to get a paper and when he returned he seemed to pale. He showed Mrs. Weasley the paper and she too looked pale and worried.

"Children, it's time for bed," Mrs. Weasley said.

"But, mum-" Ron stopped as Mrs. Weasley gave her infamous glare.

Everyone began to head to their rooms.

"Claire, dear," Mrs. Weasley said. "Stay here for a moment. Arthur and I have something to tell you."

Fred, George, Ron, Percy, and Ginny all looked at Claire before continuing up to their rooms. Ginny seemed to hesitate before Claire urged her to go on.

"Sit down, dear," Mrs. Weasley said.

Claire took a seat as did Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Claire began to feel very nervous.

"Is there a reason you needed to talk to me?" Claire asked, feeling more worried by the second.

"She has to know, Molly. We've kept her in the dark too long. She needs to know everything, including her parents." Mr. Weasley said to his wife.

"My parents?" Claire said in shock. "You mean, you're actually going to _tell_ me about them?"

Mrs. Weasley sighed. "Claire, it's time you knew the truth."

* * *

><p><em>Well, this chapter took forever to write. I'm proud of how it turned out. I loved writing the whole 'birds and bees talk' and also King Tut's tomb. I really love Ancient Egyptian history. What did you all think of this chapter? Did you love it or hate it? What about the picture in the tomb with the blue box? What does it mean? Finally, what do you think Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are going to tell Claire? <strong>Also, I know this won't be for several chapters but what do you think Claire's boggart should be?<strong> I would really like your suggestions because I'm not sure what I want it to be. I know right now I don't want it to be Tom Riddle/Voldemort because it's overdone so what should it be? Please comment and review! I love to hear what you think about the series._

_Reply to Reviews:_

_Rainpelt the Doctor: I wrote part of the trip. I didn't want to write the entire trip because only the scene that I wrote actually plays a part in the part. Or it will I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet but I'll figure it out._

_NicoleR85: Yea, I'm being discreet about the Doctor and Carina's return. I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter. Remus and Sirius' return will be epic. I thing they're amazing characters._

_OliviaNeith: I'm glad to hear that! That means I'm doing my job as a writer!_

_TENZA: Yes, I know Claire didn't use the sonic or River Song's book. I didn't want her to because of the diary. The diary is like an addiction and when you're addicted to something you focus primarily on that. Remember when the others were talking or doing homework she would just write in the diary? That's the same idea she didn't focus on anything except the diary. This book will definitely bring those two items back though. As far as Claire having two hearts, I've been debating on it. I've decided that she will have two hearts. Later in the series something will be revealed about them that will play a part in the plot._

_Guest: The X-mas special was awesome._

_Mad(Guest): Here's the next chapter. There was sort of an appearance on him in the tomb. Otherwise, there won't be an actual appearance of him until Carina and him return._

_Thanks to the new followers/favorites: melliebear94, silent song of shadows, Keeperofhounds, and 47._

**_I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER OR DOCTOR WHO! ONLY CLAIRE AND CARINA SMITH, JASON SAXTON, AND ANY OTHER CHARACTERS OR EVENTS THAT YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE._**


	3. An Interesting Summer

Chapter 3: An Interesting Summer

_"Is there a reason you needed to talk to me?" Claire asked, feeling more worried by the second._

_"She has to know, Molly. We've kept her in the dark too long. She needs to know everything, including her parents." Mr. Weasley said to his wife._

_"My parents?" Claire said in shock. "You mean, you're actually going to tell me about them?"_

_Mrs. Weasley sighed. "Claire it's time you knew the truth."_

"Your parents didn't just leave you on our doorstep for no reason," Mrs. Weasley began. "There was a man. You're mother didn't tell us much about him but she said he was after you."

"Why was he after me?" Claire asked.

"We don't know. Your parents kept us in the dark. They said it would be too dangerous if we knew." Mr. Weasley said.

"But why wouldn't they keep me with them? Wouldn't it be worse if I wasn't with them? Wouldn't I be a more vulnerable target?" Claire questioned.

"All your parents told us was that you'd be safer here because he wouldn't expect you to be here." Mrs. Weasley said.

Claire's eyes drifted towards the newspaper in Mr. Weasley's hands.

"So, how does all of this relate to that newspaper?" Claire asked, pointing at the paper.

Mr. Weasley handed her the newspaper. On the front there was a headshot of sunken-faced man with long, matted hair.

_Black Still At Large_

_Sirius Black, possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be held in Azkaban fortress, is still eluding capture, the Ministry of Magic confirmed today. "We are doing all we can to recapture Black," said the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, this morning, "and we beg the magical community to remain calm." Fudge has been criticized by some members of the International Federation of Warlocks for informing the Muggle Prime Minister of the crisis. "Well, really, I had to, you don't know," said an irritable Fudge. "Black is mad. He's a danger to anyone who crosses him, magic or Muggle. I have the Prime Minister's assurance that he will not breathe a word of Black's true identity to anyone. And let's face it-who'd believe him if he did?"_

_While Muggles have been told that Black is carrying a gun (a kind of metal wand that Muggles use to kill each other), the magical community lives in fear of a massacre like that of twelve years ago, when Black murdered thirteen people with a single curse._

"Sirius Black? What's he have to do with my parents?" Claire questioned.

"Sirius is your mother's twin brother." Mrs. Weasley answered.

Claire was quiet for a moment taking in the information. Her mother was Sirius Black's twin. This man had murdered thirteen people with one curse and now he escaped from Azkaban. _Great._ She thought sarcastically.

"We're telling you this because we fear he may come after you and Harry," Mr. Weasley said.

"Harry? Why?" Claire asked.

Mr. Weasley was about to talk before Mrs. Weasley spoke.

"I think it's time for you to go to bed, Claire."

"But Mrs. Weasley, I-" Claire was cut off.

"Now!" Mrs. Weasley said sternly.

Claire reluctantly went to her room. She was frustrated. She had a feeling they hadn't told her everything. Why were they being so secretive? Why couldn't they just tell her what she wanted to know? Why was a man after her? Why would her parents leave her with the Weasleys if that man was after her? None of it made sense to her. She opened the door to her room and saw that Ginny was awake and the light was on. Ginny noticed Claire looked irked.

"Are you alright?" Ginny asked, concerned. "What did they tell you?"

"I don't want to talk about," Claire muttered.

"Claire, you should really talk-"

"No!" Claire shouted angrily. She took a deep breath and exhaled. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm just upset at the moment. I just want to go to sleep."

And with that Claire changed her clothes and curled up in her bed drifting into sleep.

_Drums pounded. Claire had heard it countless times before. It was as if it were taunting her. _

_"He's coming….he's coming…..he's coming….." a voice whispered._

_"Who's coming?" Claire yelled frustrated._

_The only reply she heard was the drumming. The drums began to get louder as a piece of paper flew in front of Claire. Just as she was about to pick up the paper, an arm began to emerge from it. She backed away from it, fear increasing inside her as a man had emerged from the paper. The man's back was facing her, but she could tell by his ragged clothing and matted hair who the man was. When the man turned around, her theory was proven. The man was Sirius Black. He drew his wand and said, "Avada Ked-"_

Claire jolted awake at that moment.

"You alright?" Ginny asked.

Claire glanced at the clock. It was ten in the morning.

"Yea, just a bad dream," Claire said as she threw the covers off herself. "I'm going to take a shower."

Claire grabbed her clothes and walked into the bathroom. When she finished showering, she put on her clothes and walked back into the room. Ginny was no longer in the room. Claire suspected she had gone downstairs for breakfast. She went downstairs and saw the all the Weasleys eating and a familiar bushy, brown haired girl.

"Claire!" Hermione ran up to Claire and hugged her. "How are you? Did you get the books I sent you? I bet Egypt was fantastic. Did you get to see any of the tombs?"

"I'm good. Yes. It was brilliant. Yes, we saw King Tutankhamen's tomb." Claire answered. "I have the books you gave me in my trunk. I'll give them back to you later."

"It's fine, you can keep the books. I have plenty of books as it is." Hermione said.

"Oh, there you are, Claire," Mrs. Weasley had a letter in her hand. "Here's your school letter. It just came today."

Claire took the letter thanking Mrs. Weasley before she sat down.

"When did you get here by the way?" Claire asked Hermione.

"Just this morning. My parents had dropped me off and I saw Ron eating and sat here." Hermione replied.

"How was France?" Claire asked.

Hermione began to talk all about her trip. She had seen the Eiffel tower, the Lourve, and Notre Dame.

"France is truly beautiful." Hermione said. "There really is no way to describe how incredible it is."

"Have you gotten your school supplies yet?" Claire asked.

Hermione shook her head. "Maybe we could all go today."

After breakfast, the Weasleys, Hermione, and Claire went shopping for their school supplies. Claire, Ron, and Hermione went shopping for their school supplies together.

They entered Flourish and Blotts to get their books. Claire opened her letter to see which books she needed.

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 3) by Miranda Goshawk_

_Unfogging the Future by Cassandra Vablatsky_

_Intermediate Transfiguration by Emeric Switch_

_The Monster Book of Monsters _

_Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles_

_The Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts by Arsenius Jigger_

Claire searched for all the books and found them all; except one, _The Monster Book of Monsters_. She spotted Ron and Hermione and walked over to them.

"Have either of you found _The Monster Book of Monsters_?" Claire said.

"No, that's the only one we have left. We should go talk to the manager." Hermione suggested.

They walked to the front of the store and saw the manager.

"Excuse me," Claire caught the man's attention. "We need help locating_ The Monster Book of Monsters_."

The man paled. "V-very w-well," he stuttered. "How many do you need?"

"Three." Hermione said as the man turned paler.

He drew on a pair of thick gloves, picked up a large, knobby walking stick, and proceeded toward the door of the Monster Books' cage. He quickly pulled out three of the books and sat them on the counter.

"Anything else?" He said.

"No, thank you," Hermione replied.

They paid for the books being extremely careful with the monster book and then left to go back to the Leaky Cauldron. As they were walking, Claire noticed their were multiple posters of Sirius Black plastered all over Diagon Alley.

"That man is crazy!" Ron said, staring at one of the posters. "He killed thirteen Muggles with one curse!"

"That's awful!" Hermione said.

Claire remained quiet not wanting to talk about the man who was apparently her uncle. As Hermione and Ron discussed Sirius Black, Claire felt someone staring at her. She stopped walking and looked behind her. She saw a large, black dog staring at her as if it recognized her. The dog seemed to be almost human-like with striking grey eyes that stared into her brown ones.

"Claire! C'mon, we have to get back to the Leaky Cauldron!" Hermione yelled from up ahead.

Claire turned around and yelled, "Ok! I'm coming!"

Claire turned back around to the dog to find that it had disappeared.

"It's official I've finally gone crazy," she muttered to herself.

The last week of the holidays were coming to a close. Claire, Ron, and Hermione had gone to the Magical Menagerie one day because Ron's rat seemed to be ill. Ron had managed to get rat tonic for Scabbers and Hermione, who had been given money from her parents for an early birthday gift, had bought a ginger-colored, big, bandy-legged cat with a squashed head. The cat had nearly scalped Ron when it jumped from the top of one of the cages and landed on his head and then tried to attack Scabbers. Hermione seemed to think the cat was cute and decided to buy it. Claire was more of a dog person and wasn't too thrilled about Hermione buying the cat. Ron was definitely upset that Hermione had bought the cat that had nearly tore off his scalp. In fact, Hermione and Ron seemed to argue every second about it and it was driving Claire insane. It was the last day of the holidays and Claire, Ron, and Hermione were in the Leaky Cauldron. Claire was sitting at one of the tables in the Leaky Cauldron waiting for Hermione and Ron. Soon she heard their voices coming from upstairs.

"I'm warning you, Hermione!" Ron said, appearing at the top of the staircase with Scabbers in his hands. "Keep that bloody beast of yours away from Scabbers or I'll turn it into a tea cozy."

"He's a cat, Ronald!" Hermione argued, holding her cat as they both walked down the stairs to the table Claire was at. "What do you expect? It's in his nature."

Claire sighed as the two bickered.

"A cat! Is that what they told you?" Ron said, sitting in front of Claire. "Looks more like a pig with hair if you ask me."

"That's rich coming from the owner of that smelly old shoe brush." Hermione snapped, then sat down. She then began cooing to her cat. "It's all right, Crookshanks. You just ignore the mean little boy."

Claire rolled her eyes. "You two are ridiculous. Hermione, your cat did attack Ron and try to eat his rat so I understand why he's upset-"

"HA!" Ron interrupted. "See? Even Claire agrees that your cat is a bloody monster!"

"I wasn't finished," Claire glared at Ron before continuing. "Though I understand why you're upset Ron, you've never showed much interest in the rat in the first place."

"That's not true," Ron said.

"Really?" Claire raised her eyebrow."Because if I recall when you got the rat you were complaining about it not being an owl. And not to mention first year you called it worthless."

Ron muttered underneath his breath angrily.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Claire said.

"Nothing." Ron said.

Claire rolled her eyes and then stood up. "I'll be upstairs when you two decided to be civil with each other so we can enjoy the last day of summer."

Claire turned around and as she did she saw at the bottom of the stairs was Harry.

"Harry!" Claire said in surprise. After recovering from the surprise of seeing her best friend, she gave him a hug.

"Harry, what are you doing here?" Ron asked.

"I sort of blew up my aunt." Harry said sheepishly.

"You what?" Hermione exclaimed.

"Sounds like someone had an interesting summer." Claire said.

* * *

><p><em>So, now you know a little bit about Claire's parents' reasons for abandoning her. They aren't too specific because I don't want to give away the complete details just yet. But by the end of this book you'll know exactly why she was abandon and maybe a few other details. I know this chapter wasn't too long but I have to study for my finals because my school decided to wait two weeks after winter break to give us exams and I have Algebra 2 tomorrow and I'm stressing out. I'll have a five-day weekend because of MLK day and a non-student day so I should be able to upload another chapter this weekend. Thank you to my new followers: nomadeagle and Not-Famous-Yet (love your username).<em>

_Reply to Reviews: _

_NicoleR85: Well, they sort of gave Claire an explanation as to why she was left with them. But the question is were the hiding the complete explanation or were they being truthful when they said Claire's parents kept them in the dark?_

_crossMIRAGE19: The Birds and Bees Talk was really fun to write. I could just picture Mrs. Weasley saying the things that happen as girls and boys get older and Claire and Ron sinking lower and lower in their chairs pretending that the conversation wasn't happening. _

_Rainpelt the Doctor: Bohemian Rhapsody is one of my favorite songs by Queen. The song is very different both lyrically and instrumentally compared with most songs and I think that's why I enjoy it so much. Also, Freddie Mercury has an INCREDIBLE voice! I actually have never been to Egypt though I've always wanted to. I've been fascinated by the Egyptian culture since I was five (my favorite movie is THE MUMMY) and hopefully one day I'll be able to visit Egypt. However, I wouldn't want to go now because of everything happening over there. I wish I got 2 days off of school. But I live in Florida and they never cancel school because of the weather._

_Amanda (guest): I'm thrilled to hear you're enjoying the story. The Master was one of the boggarts I considered for Claire but I wasn't entirely sure if I wanted it to be him. But the sample you wrote made me realize that he'd probably be the best boggart. I absolutely love the sample you wrote and if you don't mind I'd like to use it. I just need to change a few details but if you're okay with me using it in my story then I'd be happy to use it. I'll give you credit for it too._

_Teckie De Cool: Yea! I have to admit the last chapter was one of my favorites as well. Mostly because I got to write about Egypt. And the woman and man on the tomb wall are the Doctor and Carina._

_TENZA (GUEST): Glad you liked the birds and bees talk and the painting on the wall. And I'm just going to say she doesn't really recognize her feelings yet for Harry and he doesn't for her either. I still feel like they're too young for dating and what not so their relationship won't happen until later on. Besides I think Claire as well as Harry have better things to worry about at the moment then if they have feelings for each other. I mean a murderer is after them. No, problem about clearing up any doubts about Claire having two hearts. I like your idea of the boggart being the sound of the drums. And thank you for showing your friends this series. That means a lot to me. I find it amazing to have people know about this story in Mexico._


	4. Emotions

Chapter 4: Emotions

Claire, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting in the Leaky Cauldron as Harry told them about his aunt.

"Why in Merlin's name would you blow up your aunt, Harry?" Hermione said.

"It's not like I meant to do it," Harry said. "Though she did deserve it."

"She must of really irked your nerve for you to blow her up." Claire said.

"She did," Harry replied. "She was badmouthing my parents."

"Honestly, I'm amazed you weren't expelled Harry." Hermione said.

"So am I," Harry admitted. "Forget expelled, I thought I was going to be arrested." He looked at Ron. "Your dad doesn't know why Fudge let me off, does he?"

"Probably, 'cause it's you, isn't it?" Ron shrugged. "Famous Harry Potter and all that. I'd hate to see what the Ministry'd do to me if I blew up an aunt. Mind you, they'd have to dig me up first, because Mum would've killed me. Anyway, you can ask Dad yourself this evening."

"Have you got your new school supplies?" Hermione asked.

"Yea," Harry answered. "You?"

Claire nodded. "We went shopping earlier this week."

"I got a new wand, by the way," Ron said, pulling out his new wand from his pocket. "Brand-new wand. Fourteen inches, willow, containing one unicorn tail-hair."

"Did you see the Monster Book?" Claire asked. "When we asked the manager at Flourish and Blotts about them, he looked as though he were about to cry. Those books look like something Hagrid would give to us for a gift."

"By the way Hermione, why did you buy so many books?" Ron asked, remembering that Hermione had bought three bulging bags full of books.

"Well, I'm taking more new subjects than you, aren't I?" Hermione said, "Those are my books for Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, the Study of Ancient Runes, Muggles Studies-"

"Muggle Studies?" Claire questioned. "You do realize that you're a muggleborn, right?"

"Of course, I do," Hermione said, earnestly. "But it'll be fascinating to study them from the wizarding point of view,"

"Are you planning to eat or sleep at all this year, Hermione?" Harry asked.

Hermione ignored them. Suddenly, they heard a hissing and squeaking noise. Hermione's cat, Crookshanks and Ron's rat, Scabbers, ran out from underneath the table they were sitting at, Crookshanks chasing Scabbers.

"Scabbers!" Ron exclaimed, grabbing his rat.

"Crookshanks! No! Bad cat!" Hermione scolded the cat as she caught him.

"Bloody hell, Hermione! Keep an eye on that bloody monster away!" Ron yelled at her.

"Maybe _you_ should keep an eye on_ your_ _bloody monster_!" Hermione snapped at him.

"Enough!" Claire exclaimed, stepping between the two. "_Both_ of you should be keeping an eye on your pets! Now, I want you both to stop arguing! That's all you two've been doing since day one and frankly it's getting annoying! If you're just going to have a yelling match then go do it somewhere else."

Hermione and Ron still glared at each other, but then they both headed upstairs, slamming their doors to the room.

"Or you can go to your rooms, I guess," Claire muttered, sitting back down in front of Harry.

"Since when does Hermione have a cat?" Harry asked.

"She got the cat earlier this week. Ever since then it's been trying to eat Ron's rat and the two have been fighting over it non-stop." Claire explained. "I don't know what Ron expects though. Cats eat rats and as much as Hermione tries to prevent Crookshanks from going after his rat, you can never truly stop it because that's their feline instinct."

"Well, Hermione could've bought a different animal than a cat knowing Ron has a rat," Harry said.

"That's true, but Hermione has the right to buy whatever animal she wants," Claire replied.

Claire and Harry talked about their summer to each other. Harry didn't have much to say about his seeing as he was stuck at the Dursley's house the whole time.

"How was Egypt?" Harry asked.

"It was really cool and-oh, that reminds me! I forgot to give you and Hermione your souvenirs from Egypt!" Claire said, reaching into her pocket.

"It's fine, Claire, really," Harry said.

But Claire ignored him and pulled out a necklace.

"I hope it's not too girly," Claire said, apprehensively. "It's the Eye of Horus and the Egyptians used it as a symbol of protection. I thought it'd be appropriate seeing as all the danger you get yourself in."

Harry examined the necklace. It was a light gold color. There was a red stone to represent the eye. It wasn't girly in any way.

"I think it's manly-ish enough," Harry said.

"That's not even a word." Claire laughed.

Harry shrugged. "I don't have anything for you, though."

Claire rolled her eyes. "It's completely fine and I don't expect you to. So, do you like it? I mean you don't have to wear it you could carry it in your pocket or for all I care you can just throw it in your trunk if you don't like it."

"No, I like it," Harry replied. "Thanks, Claire."

"No problem, Harry," Claire said. "We should probably go check on Hermione and Ron to make sure they haven't killed each other."

By dinnertime Hermione and Ron were acting civil towards one another. Claire, Harry, Hermione, and Ron came downstairs for dinner and sat at one of the tables. Ron pulled out a newspaper clipping.

"Did I show you this, Harry?" Ron said.

Harry examined the photo. It was a photo of the whole Weasley family as well as Claire, who stuck out in the family of redheads, in front of the Great Pyramid.

"Not flashing that clipping again, are you, Ron?" George said as he, his twin, Ginny, and Percy came over and sat with them.

"I haven't shown anyone!" Ron said defensively.

Claire scoffed. "Sure, you haven't."

"Unless you count Tom. The day maid. The night maid. The cook. The bloke that came to fix the toilet. That wizard from Belgium…" Fred said.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley came over at this moment and spotted Harry.

"It's good to see you, Harry." Mrs. Weasley smiled warmly at him hugging him.

"Good to see you too, Mrs. Weasley." Harry smiled back.

"Harry," Mr. Weasley greeted him. "I wonder if I might have a word."

"Of course, Mr. Weasley," Mr. Weasley pulled Harry away from the others.

"George's nose looks positively massive in that photograph." Fred said looking at the clipping.

"That's your nose, Fred." Claire said.

"Bloody hell. It is, isn't it?" Fred said in shock. "Take after your side of the family, don't I, Mum?"

"You definitely stand out in the photo, Claire." Ginny stated.

"Well, she is the only one with brown hair in the midst of us gingers." George said.

"What do you think your father's telling Harry?" Hermione asked Ron.

Ron shrugged. "Not sure."

Claire was pretty sure Mr. Weasley was telling Harry about Sirius Black. Harry soon came back and sat down at the table.

"What was that all about?" Ron asked.

"I'll tell you later." Harry said.

As they ate, Fred asked his parents how they were going to get to King's Cross tomorrow.

"The Ministry's providing of a couple of cars," Mr. Weasley said.

Everyone looked up at him.

"Why?" Percy said curiously.

"It's because of you, Perce," George said curiously. "And there'll be little flags on the hoods, with HB on them-"

"-for Humongous Bighead," Fred said.

Everyone except Percy and Mrs. Weasley snorted into their pudding.

"Why are the Ministry providing cars, Father?" Percy asked again, in a dignified voice.

"Well, as we haven't got one anymore," Mr. Weasley said, "-and as I work there, they're doing me a favor-"

His voice was casual, but Claire could tell that Mr. Weasley wasn't being entirely honest.

"Good thing, too," Mrs. Weasley said briskly. "Do you realize how much luggage you've all got between you? A nice sight you'd be on the Muggle Underground….You are all packed, aren't you?"

"Ron hasn't put all his new things in his trunk yet," Percy said, in a long-suffering voice. "He's dumped them on my bed."

"Then after dinner you'd better go and pack your trunk because we won't have time in the morning," Mrs. Weasley called down the table. Ron scowled at Percy.

After dinner, Harry went over to Claire.

"Claire, can I talk with you for a moment?" Harry asked, sitting next to her.

"Does it have to do with your talk with Mr. Weasley?" Claire asked.

Harry nodded. "He, um, told me, about you know,"

"Sirius Black being my uncle. Yea, isn't it great? I find out I have a uncle and he's a murderer who escaped from Azkaban and is after me. I have the best luck." Claire replied sarcastically.

"Yea, well, you're not the only one he's after." Harry said.

"What?!" Claire said in shock. "Why?"

"Yea, he's after me too, apparently." Harry replied. "He was a servant to Voldemort and when I defeated him as a baby, Mr. Weasley said Black lost everything. Black thinks I'm the only thing preventing Voldemort from returning to power."

Claire took in the information. "That's-"

They were interrupted by Fred and George sitting in front of them at the table.

"Oh, were we-." Fred began.

"-interrupting something?" George finished.

"No," Harry said.

Claire had a bad feeling that Fred and George were going to do something.

"Good. Actually, Harry, George and I wanted to talk to you about something." Fred began.

"Sure, what is it?" Harry asked.

Claire seemed to figure out what was about to happen. "I swear to Merlin, Fred, if you're about to do what I think you are, don't. I already told you that you're wrong."

"I believe you weren't included in this conversation, Claire." Fred said.

"Well, I'm including myself. Especially, when it concerns-"

"Claire!" Mrs. Weasley yelled from the top of the stairs. "You didn't pack your trunk! Come and pack it right this instant!"

"What?" Claire said. "But I did pack-"

Claire noticed Fred and George were smirking which meant that they probably had undid her packed trunk to get her to leave so they could talk to Harry. She narrowed her eyes at them. Before she could say anything, Mrs. Weasley shouted from upstairs again, making them all jump in surprise.

_"CLAIRE CELESTINE SMITH! GET UP HERE AND PACK YOUR TRUNK RIGHT NOW!"_

"You'd better go," George said smirking.

"Yea, you don't want to make her more angry." Fred said.

Claire glared at them before trudging upstairs. When Claire was gone, Fred and George turned to Harry.

"What was that all about?" Harry questioned, confused.

"Do you like Claire?" Fred said quickly.

"Wh-what?" Harry questioned surprised by the question.

"Do you like Claire?" Fred repeated, this time with a stern look on his face.

"I mean, I am friends with her," Harry replied awkwardly. "I don't think I'd be her friend if I didn't like her."

"No," George said. "We mean do you like her_ more_ than a friend?"

"You mean like a sister?" Harry asked, clueless.

Fred and George groaned in annoyance.

"Kids today so oblivious." Fred sighed.

Suddenly, it clicked in Harry's mind.

"Do you mean if I like _like_ Claire?" Harry questioned.

"Yes," the twins replied in unison.

"No," Harry hesitated. "She's just my fr-"

Fred interrupted him. "As her honorary brothers, we have to set some ground rules. Rule Number 1: If you hurt her, we hurt you. Just because you vanquished You-Know-Who doesn't mean that you'll stand a chance against us. Rule Number 2-"

Just then they were interrupted by Ron.

"There you are, Harry," Ron said. "You coming upstairs?"

"Yea," Harry said, practically jumping up from his seat. "Nice talking to you two." he said to Fred and George as he followed Ron upstairs.

"What were you talking about with Fred and George?" Ron asked.

Ron noticed Harry seemed a bit uncomfortable. "Um, they seem to think I like Claire."

"You _what_?" Ron said in shock.

"I don't though." Harry added quickly.

"Oh, good," Ron said.

"There you two are," Mrs. Weasley said. "Early morning. Time for bed. Now!"

"But-" Ron began.

"Ronald Weasley, I am _your_ mother! You _will_ listen to me!" Mrs. Weasley said.

"Yes, mum," Ron said.

Harry and Ron went to their room. As Harry went to sleep he began to think about the conversation he had with Fred and George. Why did he hesitate when they asked him if he liked _liked_ Claire? Did he like Claire? Sure, she was a great person with a nice smile and laugh, and beautiful eyes- wait what? _Did I just say her eyes were beautiful?_ Harry thought to himself. He shook the thought away. _No, I just see her as a friend._ Harry thought. He fell asleep contemplating his feelings for Claire.

* * *

><p>Harry's developing feelings for Claire, or at least realizingdenying his feelings for her. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll be posting another chapter this weekend hopefully. It'll be the train ride to Hogwarts with Dementors and Claire and Harry telling Ron and Hermione about Sirius Black. Also, if you have any suggestions about Claire's boggart or something that I could add or improve on with the story just post it in the review section or you can PM me. Thank you for supporting this story! Thanks to the new follower: Natekleh!

Reply to Reviews:

Rainpelt The Doctor: Glad you liked the last chapter!

NicoleR85: Well, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley definitely know more than they let on but at the same time don't have much knowledge on it because Claire's parents were trying to keep not only their daughter safe but them safe as well.

Ghostwriter71: (POSTS FROM BOOK TWO) I'm glad to hear Claire's been fitting into the story without it being awkward. Thank you and I'm sorry to hear about your father's death as well. You are completely right though about the pain of loss. I agree that the Wizarding World is pretty negligent to 21st century technology. They are more advance than the muggles but at the same time are far behind the muggles. I didn't know that Sauron was called "Him Who We Do Not Name". That's ironic. Thank you for saying that. It makes me feel accomplished to hear someone say that I have a gift for writing. (BOOK THREE POSTS) Well, I try my best to fit Claire in as though she was always meant to be there. Glad to hear that you feel Claire fits in.

Natekleh: I'm happy to hear you find this story interesting. Glad you like the (mini) master.


	5. Dementors Aren't the Nicest Beings

Chapter 5: Dementors Aren't the Nicest Beings

September first had finally arrived. Ron and Harry were walking downstairs to get some breakfast.

"The sooner we get on the train, the better," Ron said. "At least I can get away from Percy at Hogwarts. Now he's accusing me of dripping tea on his photo of Penelope Clearwater. You know," Ron grimaced, "his _girlfriend_. She's hidden her face under the frame because her nose has gone all blotchy…."

They soon arrived downstairs where they saw Mr. Weasley reading the Daily Prophet and Mrs. Weasley telling Claire, Hermione, and Ginny about a love potion she'd made as a young girl. Mrs. Weasley, Hermione, and Ginny were rather giggly, while Claire rolled her eyes and ate her breakfast. Ron and Harry sat down at the table and began eating.

After breakfast, everyone was in a rush to bring down their trunks and other belongings to be loaded in the cars. By the time everyone got their belongings downstairs, the cars the Ministry had sent had arrived. They marched across a short stretch of pavement toward the two old-fashioned dark green cars. Each car was driven by a furtive-looking wizard wearing a suit that was the same shade as the cars. Claire, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and to both Ron and Claire's disgust, Percy were riding in the same car.

The journey to King's Cross was uneventful. When they arrived at King's Cross and their belongings were on the trolleys, they made their way to Platform 9 3/4.

"Now, we're all traveling in pairs through the wall," Mrs. Weasley said. "Claire go with Percy."

"What?" Claire said. "But, I already had to sit in the car with him as he went on and on about his girlfriend. Don't you think that's-"

Mrs. Weasley gave her infamous glare and Claire shut up and went through the barrier with Percy. Mr. Weasley and Harry went through the barrier next.

"Ah, there's Penelope!" Percy said, smoothing his hair and going pink again.

Claire caught Harry's eye, and they both turned away trying to hide their laughter as Percy strode over to a girl with long, curly hair, walking with his chest thrown out so that she couldn't miss his shiny badge.

Claire rolled her eyes. "Desperate much?"

Once the remaining Weasleys and Hermione had joined them, Harry, Claire, Ron, and Hermione led the way to the end of the train, past packed compartments, to a carriage that was empty and placed their belongings in there before going back outside to say good-bye to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

Mrs. Weasley kissed all her children, then Hermione, then Claire, and finally, Harry.

"Do take care, won't you, Harry?" Mrs. Weasley said as she straightened up, her eyes oddly bright. She then turned to Claire. "You as well, Claire, alright? I don't want you to end up in anymore life-threatening situations again like last year, ok?"

"No promises, Mrs. Weasley." Claire said.

Mrs. Weasley then opened her enormous handbag and distributed sandwiches to everyone.

"Claire, Harry," Mr. Weasley said quietly, "come over here a moment."

He jerked his head toward a pillar, and Claire and Harry followed him behind it, leaving the others crowded around Mrs. Weasley.

"You both know about Black," Mr. Weasley began. "But I need you both to look after each other. Black is a dangerous criminal."

"Arthur!" Mrs. Weasley called, who was now shepherding the rest onto the train. "Arthur, what are you doing? It's about to go!"

"They're coming, Molly!" Mr. Weasley said, but turned back to Claire and Harry and kept talking in a lower more hurried voice. "Listen, I want you both to give me your word-"

"-that we'll stay in the castle and be good children?" Claire said gloomily.

"Not entirely," Mr. Weasley said. "Claire, Harry, just keep an eye out for anything that seems suspicious. Look after one another and swear to me neither of you will go looking for Black; especially you Harry."

"Why would we go after someone who wants to kill us?" Harry questioned.

"Arthur, quickly!" Mrs. Weasley cried.

Steam was billowing from the train; it had started to move. Claire and Harry ran to the compartment door and Ron threw it open and stood back to let them in. The three of the leaned out the window and waved at Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, but when they did this they noticed Mrs. Weasley was running toward them with Ron's rat in her hand.

"Ron!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. "Your rat!"

As Ron grabbed his rat from Mrs. Weasley through the window, Harry turned to Claire and whispered, "We should probably tell Ron and Hermione about Black."

"Yea," Claire agreed. However, Claire felt kind of nervous about telling them that Black was her uncle.

Harry seemed to notice her uneasiness and said, "You don't have to say he's your uncle. I won't say anything about it."

"No," Claire replied. "Thanks, though. It'd be worse if I didn't tell them."

When Ron came to them with his rat, Harry said, "Claire and I have something to tell you and Hermione in private."

"Ok," Ron replied.

"Where is Hermione?" Claire asked.

"She went ahead to look for a compartment. I think she went down that corridor. C'mon." Ron led the way down the corridor. They soon saw Hermione through one of the compartment windows. As they entered the compartment, they noticed a man sitting fast asleep next to the window. He was wearing shabby clothes and looked ill. Though quite young, his light brown hair was flecked with gray.

"Who's that?" Ron asked Hermione.

"Professor R.J. Lupin," Hermione said.

Claire noticed on the luggage rack above the man's head that there was a small, battered case held together with a large quantity of neatly knotted string. The name Professor R.J. Lupin was stamped across one corner in peeling letters.

"How d'you know that?" Ron questioned.

"It's on that bag," Claire said, pointing to the luggage rack above the sleeping man's head.

"Wonder what he teaches?" Ron said, frowning at Professor Lupin's pallid profile.

"You're a special kind of stupid, aren't you?" Claire said sarcastically, earning her a glare from Ron. "There's only one position open. Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Well, I hope he's up to it," Ron said doubtfully. "He looks like one good hex would finish him off, doesn't he? Anyway…" He turned to Harry and Claire. "What were you two going to tell Hermione and me?"

Harry and Claire took turns explaining about Sirius Black. When they'd finished, Ron looked speechless, and Hermione had her hands over her mouth. She finally lowered them to say, "Sirius Black escaped to come after you two? Oh, Claire, Harry….you'll have to be really, really careful this year. Don't go looking for trouble, Claire, Harry-"

"I don't go looking for trouble," Harry said, nettled. "Trouble usually finds me."

"I agree with that." Claire said. "And apparently it's in my genetics to get into life-threatening situations."

"How _thick_ would they have to be, to go looking for a nutter who wants to kill them?" Ron said shakily.

"There's actually one more thing I should tell you and Hermione," Claire said.

"What is it?" Hermione asked.

"Well, um, Sirius Black might be my uncle," Claire muttered.

_"YOUR WHAT?!"_ Hermione and Ron exclaimed, causing the sleeping Professor to stir in his sleep.

"Shhh!" Claire said. "Don't wake him up!"

"How is he your uncle?" Ron questioned.

"He was my mom's twin brother." Claire said.

"But he's your uncle, surely he wouldn't harm you." Hermione said.

"Hermione, he killed thirteen muggles in open air. I don't think that just because Claire's his niece that he'll go easy on her." Ron said.

"Gee, thanks, Ron. Now, I definitely feel safe." Claire muttered sarcastically.

"But they'll catch Black, won't they?" Hermione said. "I mean….eventually?"

Suddenly, the compartment began to rattle. The lights began to flicker and the train lurched, slowing down. Hermione, who was sitting next to Ron, slid down the seat, pinning Ron against the window. They shared an awkward glance before Hermione carefully slid to the other end of the seat and glanced at her watch.

Hermione frowned. "Why're we stopping? We can't be there yet…"

Claire had a bad feeling about what was going to happen. Harry stood up and slid the compartment door opened, peering into the corridor. All along the corridor, other students had their heads sticking out from their compartment doors trying to see what all the commotion was. The train jerked and the car swayed. Harry had to grab ahold to the side of the door to keep from falling down. When he regained his balance, the lights in the corridor began to flicker and die. One by one. Until all was dark.

"What's going on?" Ron questioned, as Harry felt his way back to his seat next to Claire.

Claire and Harry noticed a thin wisp of steam escaped from Ron's mouth.

"Dunno," Harry replied. "Maybe we've broken down?"

"Or maybe someone or something stopped the train on purpose." Claire said.

"Ouch!" Hermione explained. "Ron, that was my foot!"

Ron peered out the window as a dark silhouette appeared against the window. He used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe a patch of condensation from the window.

"There's something moving out there," Ron said. "I think people are coming aboard….."

Claire noticed that the air seemed to be getting colder. "Is it just me or has it gotten colder?"

"No, I feel it too-" Harry was cut off as the train swayed violently.

"What the _hell_ was that?" Claire said.

Suddenly, a figure appeared outside their compartment door. They could see through the glass portion of the door a cloaked figure.

"Bloody hell." Ron's eyes widened as the cloaked figure reached for the handle. "What's happening?"

"Don't move." said a hoarse voice suddenly.

Professor Lupin appeared to have woken up at last. The figure began to rattle the door. There was a soft crackling noise and a shivering light filled the compartment. Professor Lupin was trying to stand up with his handful of fire held out in front of him.

But the door slid slowly open before Lupin could reach it.

The temperature in the room dropped drastically. The cloaked figure looked around the room and it stared at Claire and Harry. The creature drew a long, slow, rattling breath, as though it were trying to suck something more than air from its surroundings. An intense cold swept over all of them. Harry felt his own breath catch in his chest. The cold went deeper than his skin. It was inside his chest, it was inside his very heart…

Harry's eyes rolled up into his head. He couldn't see. He was drowning in cold. There was a rushing in his ears as though of water. He was being dragged downward, the roaring growing louder…

And then, he heard screaming, terrible, pleading screams. He wanted to help whoever it was, he tried to move his arms, but couldn't and he was soon seeing darkness.

Claire noticed Harry had passed out. The figure had turned to her and she began to hear the sound of drums. The same sound of drums that had haunted her for three years. She could feel coldness sweeping in her chest. She was just about to pass out when Professor Lupin exclaimed, "Expecto Patronum!"

A bright light illuminated the compartment making the creature retract, screaming (at least what sounded like screaming) in pain as though the light had burnt it. As soon as it disappeared, the temperature in the room was no longer cold or unsettling. The lights in the corridor and compartments began to turn on. Everyone released a breath they didn't know they'd held in. Claire was still a little shook up but pushed those feelings away as she remembered that Harry had passed out. Ron, Hermione, and Professor Lupin saw that he had fainted.

"Is he…." Hermione didn't finish his sentence but Claire could tell what she was about to say.

"No," Claire answered. "He just fainted."

"What was that thing?" Ron asked.

"A dementor." Professor Lupin said. "One of the dementors of Azkaban."

They looked at him in shock.

"You mean, those things guard Azkaban?" Claire questioned.

Lupin nodded. He took a chocolate bar from his cloak pocket and broke it into four pieces handing each of them one.

"Here," he said as he distributed the chocolate. "Eat these. They should make you feel better. I need to speak to the driver, excuse me…."

Lupin disappeared and Ron, Hermione, and Claire turned their attention to Harry who was still passed out.

"What should we do?" Claire asked.

"Try lightly slapping him awake," Hermione suggested.

"What? I'm not doing that!" Claire said.

"You slap me all the time. What's the difference?" Ron argued.

Hermione rolled her eyes, a habit she picked up from Claire, and was about to slap him herself when he woke up. His eyes opened revealing his emerald green eyes. Claire saw Harry was awake and relief flooded over her.

"Harry, are you alright?" Claire asked. "Here eat this."

Claire handed him the piece of chocolate. He looked at it confused.

"Professor Lupin said it would help us after that incident." Claire said.

Harry took the chocolate from Claire and began eating it. She was right it did make him feel better.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

Claire, Ron, and Hermione told them what had happened.

"I felt weird. Like I'd never be cheerful again." Ron said, shifting his shoulders uncomfortably.

"Did any of you pass out?" Harry asked.

The three of them shook their heads.

"No," Hermione said. "But Claire would've if Professor Lupin hadn't casted that spell that made those dementors go away."

"That's what those things were?" Harry said.

Claire nodded. "Apparently they guard Azkaban."

"Do you think they were looking for Sirius Black on the train?" Harry asked.

"It's possible." Claire said, hoping that Harry wasn't right about Sirius Black being on the train. "All I know is that those dementors aren't the nicest beings."

The remainder of the journey to Hogwarts was in silence. They were still a little shocked at what occurred on the train. The train soon stopped at Hogsmeade station and there was a great scramble to get off the train. It was freezing on the tiny platform; rain was driving down in icy sheets.

"Firs' years this way!" called a familiar voice. Claire, Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned and saw the gigantic outline of Hagrid at the other end of the platform, beckoning the terrified-looking new students forward for their traditional journey across the lake.

"All righ', you four?" Hagrid yelled over the heads of the crowd. They waved at him, but had no time to reply because the mass of people around them was shunting them away along the platform. The four of them followed the rest of the school along the platform and out onto a rough mud track, where at least a hundred stagecoaches awaited the remaining students, each pulled, Harry could only assume, by an invisible horse, because when they climbed inside and shut the door, the coach set off all by itself, bumping and swaying in position.

At last, the carriage swayed to a halt, and Hermione and Ron got out. Claire and Harry came out after them.

"You fainted, Potter? Is it true that you actually fainted?" Malfoy said in a delight voice.

Claire glared at Malfoy. "Shove off, Malfoy."

"Did you faint as well Smith?" Malfoy said loudly. "Did the scary old dementor frighten you too, Smith?"

"No," Claire lied. "But at least Harry and I weren't the ones who ran away screaming like a little girl in the Forbidden forest during first year."

Malfoy blushed in embarrassment and then glared at her. Claire rolled her eyes and Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed her as they walked away from Malfoy.

"Brilliant, Claire! Did you see Malfoy's face?" Ron praised.

"Potter! Smith! Granger! I want to see you three!"

Harry, Claire, and Hermione turned around, surprised. Professor McGonagall was calling over the heads of the crowds.

"There's no need to look so worried- I just want a word in my office," she told them. "Move along there, Weasley."

Ron stared as Professor McGonagall ushered Harry, Claire, and Hermione away from the chattering crowd; they accompanied her across the entrance hall, up the marble staircase, and along a corridor.

Once they were in her office, Professor McGonagall motioned for them to sit down. She settled herself behind her desk and said abruptly, "Professor Lupin sent an owl ahead to say that you were taken ill on the train, Potter."

Before Harry could reply, Madam Pomfrey had entered. Harry felt himself going red in the face. It was bad enough that he'd passed out, or whatever he had done, without everyone making all this fuss.

"I'm fine," he said, "I don't need anything-"

"Oh, it's you, is it?" Madam Pomfrey said. "I suppose you've been doing something dangerous again?"

"It was a dementor, Poppy," Professor McGonagall said.

They exchanged a dark look, and Madam Pomfrey clucked disapprovingly. She mumbled about how they shouldn't let dementors roam the school because he wouldn't be the only one to collapse.

"What does he need?" Professor McGonagall asked crisply. "Bed rest? Should he perhaps spend tonight in the hospital wing?"

"I'm fine!" Harry said, jumping up. The thought of what Draco Malfoy would say if he had to go to the hospital wing was torture.

"Well, he should have some chocolate, at the very least," Madam Pomfrey said.

"He had already had some," Claire spoke up. "Professor Lupin gave us all one."

"Did he, now?" Madam Pomfrey said approvingly. "So we've finally got a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who knows his remedies?"

"Are you sure you feel alright, Potter?" Professor McGonagall said sharply.

"Yes," Harry said.

"Very well. Kindly wait outside while I have a quick word with Miss Granger and Miss Smith about their course schedules, then we can go down to the feast together."

Harry stood outside while he waited for Claire and Hermione. When Harry left the room, Professor McGonagall turned to the girls.

"Now, Miss Smith, Miss Granger, you both have more than two electives. In order to make it possible for you to attend all your classes you must use this special device called a Timeturner." Professor McGonagall held up two necklaces that had a small hourglass at the end of it. "You must tell no one about this and you must only use it for getting to classes. If either of you abuse it in anyway there will be harsh consequences. I'm not too worried about either of you abusing it but it is important to understand that bad things happen to wizards and witches who muddle with time."

Professor McGonagall handed each of them a Timeturner and they left the room to head down to the feast. Harry, Claire, Hermione, and Professor McGonagall soon entered the Great hall and Professor McGonagall sat at the teachers table while Claire, Harry, and Hermione sat with Ron at the Gryffindor table.

"Welcome! Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!" Professor Dumbledore announced. "I have a few things to day, before we become befuddled by our excellent feast. I myself am particularly looking forward to the flaming kiwi cups, which, while somewhat treacherous for those of us with facial hair…"

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat.

"Mm. Yes. First, I'm pleased to welcome Professor R.J. Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill post of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Good luck to you, Professor." Professor Dumbledore said. "As some of you may know, Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher for many years, has decided to retire in order to spend more time with his remaining limbs. Fortunately, I'm delighted to announce that his place will be filled by none other than our own Rubeus Hagrid!"

Harry, Claire, Hermione, and Ron stared at each other stunned and then applauded vigorously.

"That explains the books." Claire said.

"Finally," Dumbledore said turning grave, "on a more disquieting note, Hogwarts-at the request of the Ministry of Magic- will, until further notice, play host to the Dementors of Azkaban."

There was a murmur of apprehension that filled the hall.

"The dementors will be stationed at the entrances to the grounds. While they are under strict orders not to enter the castle itself, you will on occasion see them as you go about your daily activities. Under no circumstances are you to approach them. It is not in the nature of a dementor to be forgiving." Dumbledore continued. "Now, enjoy the feast!"

"Well, that was depressing," Claire muttered.

After dinner ended, the four friends walked to the seventh floor landing and approached the Fat Lady in the portrait. They said the password and entered the Gryffindor common room. They said good night to one another and went to their dorms. Harry and Ron entered the boys dormitory and unpacked their trunks and changed into the pajamas. Harry looked at the photo of his parents next to his bed.

"Good to be home, eh, Harry?" Ron said.

"Yea," Harry said. "it is."

* * *

><p><em>So, if there's any errors grammar or spelling it's because I'm on limited time today and I really wanted to post this chapter. <em>

_Reply to reviews: _

_Rainpelt the Doctor: That's alright and that sucks that you have to suffer the Great lake effect. _

_OliviaNeith: I know I had a lot a fun writing George and Fred's talk with Harry. Don't worry though, they'll probably end up telling him more of the rules later on. _

_Natekleh: You're welcome and thank you for reading and supporting the story._

_NicoleR85: Here's the new chapter!_

_Teckie De Cool: Me too. The twins are my favorite characters and I could totally picture them doing something like this._

_Ghostwriter71: I would've hated to be in Harry's position with his talk with Fred and George. _

_Tenza: Yep, there are feelings. Thanks!_

_Rukia-chappy (Guest): Thank you for reading it!_


	6. The Inner Eye and the Hippogriff

Chapter 6: The Inner Eye and the Hippogriff

When Claire, Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the Great Hall for breakfast the next day, the first thing they saw was Draco Malfoy, who seemed to be entertaining a large group of Slytherins with a very funny story. The moment they passed by, Malfoy did a ridiculous impression of a swooning fit and there was a roar of laughter.

"I wonder if they notice how stupid they look," Claire said, as they sat down at the Gryffindor table.

"Ignore him," Hermione said to Harry, who looked irritated with Malfoy. "Just ignore him, it's not worth it…."

"Yea, Hermione's right, Harry," Claire agreed. "He's pathetic."

"Hey, Potter!" Pansy Parkinson shrieked, a Slytherin girl with a face that resembled a pug. "Potter! The dementors are coming, Potter! Wooooo!"

"New third-year course schedules," George said, sitting next to them with his twin passing out their schedules. "What's up with you, Harry?"

"Malfoy," Ron said, glaring at the Slytherin table.

George looked up in time to see Malfoy pretending to faint with terror again.

"That little git," he said calmly. "He wasn't so cocky last night when the dementors were down at our end of the train. Came running into our compartment, didn't he, Fred?"

"Nearly wet himself," Fred said, with a contemptuous glance at Malfoy.

"I wasn't too happy myself," George said. "They're horrible things, those dementors…."

"Sort of freeze your insides, don't they?" Fred said.

"You didn't pass out, though, did you?" Harry said in a low voice.

"Forget it, Harry," George said bracingly. "Dad had to go out to Azkaban one time, remember, Fred? And he said it was the worst place he'd ever been, he came back all weak and shaking….They suck the happiness out of a place, dementors. Most of the prisoners go mad in there."

"Can you blame them? I'd go mad too if I had to hang around those things." Claire said.

"Anyway, we'll see how happy Malfoy looks after our first Quidditch match," Fred said. "Gryffindor versus Slytherin, first game of the season, remember?"

Harry felt a bit more cheerful after Fred said that and began piling sausages and fried tomatoes on his plate. Hermione was looking at her new schedule.

"Ooh, good, we're starting some new subjects today." she said happily.

"Hermione," Ron said looking over her shoulder at her schedule. "How do you plan on attending three classes all at the same time? I mean I know you're good, but you're not _that_ good."

"Don't be silly, Ron," Hermione said. "No one can be in three places at _once._"

Ron then saw Claire's schedule. "You have Divination and Muggle Studies like Hermione today at the same time. How do you two plan to be at both places at once?"

"Did you not hear what Hermione said Ron?" Claire replied. "We won't at both places at the _same_ time. Now, get your nose out of our business."

"Pass the marmalade," Hermione said.

"But-" Ron was cut off by Hermione.

"Oh, Ron, what's it to you if our schedules are a bit full?" Hermione snapped. "It's all been fixed with Professor McGonagall and as Claire said keep out of our business."

Just then, Hagrid entered the Great Hall. He was wearing his long moleskin overcoat and was absentmindedly swinging a dead polecat from one enormous hand.

"All righ'?" he said, eagerly, pausing on the way to the staff table. "Yer in my firs' ever lesson! Right after lunch! Bin up since five gettin' everythin' ready….Hope it's okay….Me, a teacher..hones'ly."

He grinned broadly at them and headed off to the staff table, still swinging the polecat.

"Wonder what he's been getting ready?" Ron said, a note of anxiety in his voice.

"I don't know," Claire said, "but I hope it's nothing like Norbert or Fluffy."

After they finished breakfast, the four friends said goodbye to Fred and George and headed to Divination. The journey through the castle to the North Tower was a long one. Two years at Hogwarts hadn't taught them everything about the castle, and they had never been inside the North Tower before.

"There's-got-to-be-a-shortcut," Ron panted as they climbed their seventh long staircase and emerged on an unfamiliar landing, where there was nothing but a large painting of a bare stretch of grass hanging on the stone wall.

"You'd think after two years we'd be able to make it around this castle," Claire said.

"I think it's this way," Hermione said, peering down the empty passage way to the right.

"Can't be," Ron said. "That's south, look, you can see a bit of the lake out the window…"

"Maybe we could ask for directions." Claire suggested.

"From who? We're the only ones here." Hermione said.

Just then, in the painting of a bare stretch of grass, a squat knight in a suit of armor clanked into the picture on his fat, dapple gray pony.

"Aha!" the knight yelled, seeing Claire, Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "What villains are theses that trespass upon my private lands! Draw, you knaves, you dogs!"

The little knight tugged out his sword and jumped off the pony brandishing his sword violently, hopping up and down in rage. But the sword was too long for him; a particularly wild swing made him overbalance, and he landed facedown in the grass. Claire tried not to laugh as she moved closer to the picture and said, "Are you alright?"

"Get back, you-you," the knight stopped talking and took off his helmet. He stared at Claire as he bowed. "Fair maiden, what can I do to help you?"

Claire raised an eyebrow. "Um, well we're looking for the North Tower. You don't know the way, do you?"

"A quest!" The knight exclaimed in excitement as he put on his helmet. "Aye, I know the way! Follow me, fair lady and friends. We shall find our goal, or else perish bravely in the charge!"

He tried to pick up his sword but failed. He then tried and once again failed to mount the fat pony, gave up, and cried, "On foot then, good sirs and gentle ladies! On! On!"

They followed the knight along the corridor until they reached the classroom.

"Farewell!" cried the knight. He then turned to Claire. "It has been an honor to help such a lovely lady!" He bowed. "If you ever have need for a noble heart and steely sinew, call upon Sir Cadogan!"

"Yeah, we'll call you," muttered Ron as the knight disappeared, "if we ever need someone mental."

"It seems that knight had a crush on you, Claire." Hermione said.

Ron burst out laughing, while Claire glared at him.

"Yea, did you hear him?" Ron laughed. "'Fair maiden, what can I do to help you?'"

Claire glared at him as she said, "You won't be laughing when I tell the Fat Lady you have a crush on her."

He stopped laughing.

"But I don't and you wouldn't actually do that." Ron said.

Claire raised her eyebrow. "Do you really want to take that chance?"

Ron didn't tease Claire about the knight incident anymore as they climbed the last few steps and emerged onto a tiny landing, where most of the class was already assembled. There were no doors off this landing, but Ron nudged Harry and pointed at the ceiling, where there was a circular trapdoor with a brass plaque on it that read: _Sibyll Trelawney, Divination Teacher_.

"How're we supposed to get up there?" Harry said.

As if in reply to his question, the trapdoor suddenly opened, and a silvery ladder descended right at Harry's feet. Everyone got quiet.

"Like that," Claire said.

"After you," Ron said, grinning, so Harry climbed the ladder first.

As the four friends entered the classroom, they noticed that it looked like a mixture of someone's attic and an old-fashioned tea shop. Twenty small, circular tables were crammed inside it, all surrounded by chintz armchairs. The curtains were drawn and the whole place was lit dimly. It was stiflingly warm, and the fire burning under the crowded mantlepiece seemed to be given off a heavy, sickly sort of perfume as it heated a large copper kettle. Harry, Claire, Hermione, and Ron all sat at the same table.

Suddenly, a voice came out of the shadows, a soft, misty sort of voice.

"Welcome," it said. "How nice to see you in the physical world at last."

Professor Trelawney moved into the firelight, and they saw that she was very thin; her large glasses seemed to magnify her eyes to several times their natural size, resembling some sort of insect. She was draped in a gauzy spangled shawl with innumerable chains and beads hanging around her spindly neck. Her arms and hands were decorated with bangles and rings.

"Welcome, my children. In this room, you shall explore the mysterious art of Divination." Professor Trelawney said. "In this room, you shall discover if you possess the sight. Hello. I am Professor Trelawney. Together, we shall cast ourselves into the future. But know this. One either has the Gift or not. It cannot be divined from the pages of a book. Books only cloud one's Inner Eye."

Claire, Harry, and Ron glanced, grinning at Hermione, who looked startled at the news that books wouldn't be much help in this subject.

"You, boy!" Professor Trelawney said suddenly, turning to Neville. "Is your grandmother well?"

"I-I think so," Neville stuttered.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." she said, before continuing. "We will be covering the basic methods of Divination this year. The first term will be devoted to reading the tea leaves. Next term we shall progress to palmistry. By the way, my dear," she shot suddenly at Parvati Patil," beware a red-haired man."

Claire stifled a laugh as Parvati gave a startled look at Ron, who was right behind her, and edge her chair away from him.

"In the second term," Professor Trelawney went on, "we shall progress to the crystal ball-if we have finished with fire omens, that is. Unfortunately, classes will be disrupted in February by a nasty bout of flu. I myself will lose my voice. And around Easter, one of our number will leave us forever."

_How nice._ Claire thought sarcastically. _Positive energy in that one._

Professor Trelawney then instructed the class (while also warning Lavender Brown that the thing she was most dreading would happen on Friday the sixteenth of October) to divide into pairs and collect a teacup from the shelf. She would fill it and then they'd sit back down and drink until only the dregs remained. Then they'd swill the cup three times with their left hand, turn the cup upside down on the saucer, wait for the last of the tea to drain away, then give the cup to your partner to read. Harry and Ron paired up as well as Claire and Hermione.

"This is complete rubbish," Hermione muttered as she handed Claire her cup.

"I actually find this interesting," Claire said, as she looked in Hermione's cup.

"How? There's no logic to this at all. It's all make-believe and guesswork." Hermione replied.

"Well, not everything in the world can be explained by facts." Claire stated. "Ok, I see candlestick. That means you need to look at things from a wider point of view. How appropriate. There's also a crane which means you will experience heavy burdens and anxiety. Tough luck."

"Alright, I'll read your's now." Hermione said, grabbing Claire's cup. "There's quite a few images in your cup. This one looks like a compass. This implies that you'll spend your life traveling and participating in interesting activities. That sounds exciting. There's a Fender which mean you'll constantly come in contact with someone you strongly dislike. Then there's a looking-glass. That means you desire to know the truth, even if it's unpleasant to you. That one looks like a falcon which means you have a deadly enemy. Right next to the falcon is a skull indicating there's danger in your path. That's not good. And lastly there seems to be two large dogs."

"Claire's got a dog too?" Ron asked. "Harry has one to. Let's see if they look the same."

Hermione and Ron compared Claire's and Harry's cups.

"Let me see those, my dears," Professor Trelawney said to Hermione and Ron.

Hermione and Ron handed her the cups and Trelawney gasped then screamed.

"In all my years, I have never seen anything like this," she said.

"Like what?" Claire questioned.

"My dear, you have the Grim." Trelawney said to Harry and then turned to Claire. "And you have not just one Grim, but two." Trelawney said.

Everyone looked confused.

"What's the Grim?" Dean Thomas asked.

"The Grim, my dear, the _Grim_!" Professor Trelawney cried. "The giant, spectral dog that haunts churchyards! It is the omen-the _worst_ omen- of _death_!"

Lavender Brown clapped her hands to her mouth. Everyone was looking at Harry and Claire.

"But that's impossible no one can die more than once." Hermione said, remembering that Claire had two of the Grim.

Professor Trelawney surveyed Hermione with mounting dislike. "You'll forgive me for saying so, my dear, but I perceive very little aura around you. Very little receptivity to the resonances of the future."

It was a good thing the bell had rung because Hermione looked like she was going to have a few choice words with Professor Trelawney. They made their way to Transfiguration. Claire tried to focus on the lesson in Transfiguration but her mind kept going back to Divination. How could she have two Grims? There's no way she could die twice. She was only human. Professor McGonagall had noticed that most of the class seemed to be distracted and not focusing on the lesson.

"Really, what has got into you all today?" Professor McGonagall said.

Everyone's heads turned towards Claire and Harry, but nobody spoke. Then Hermione raised her hand.

"Please, Professor, we've just had out first Divination class, and we were reading the tea leaves, and-"

"Ah, of course," Professor McGonagall said, suddenly frowning. "There is no need to say any more, Miss Granger. Tell me, which of you will be dying this year?"

Everyone stared at her.

"Me," Harry said finally.

"And me." Claire said, grimly. "Well, she technically said I'd die twice."

Professor McGonagall seemed to be a bit surprised by Claire's statement.

"I see," Professor McGonagall said, fixing her eyes on them. "Then you both should know that Sibyll Trelawney has predicted death of one student a year since she arrived at this school. None of them has died yet. Seeing death omens is her favorite way of greeting a new class. I guess this year she decided on changing things a bit and predicting the death of two students, or more specifically saying that one student would die more than once. If it were not for the fact that I never speak ill of my colleagues-"

Professor McGonagall broke off, and they saw that her nostrils had gone white. She went on, more calmly, "Divination is one of the most imprecise branches of magic. I shall not conceal from you that I have very little patience with it. True Seers are very rare, and Professor Trelawney-"

She stopped again, and then said, in a very matter-of-fact tone, "You both look in excellent health to me, Potter, Smith, so you will excuse me if I don't let you off homework today. I assure you both that if either of you die, you need not hand it in."

"Glad to know if I end up dead, I won't have to worry about my homework." Claire muttered.

When Transfiguration ended, the four friends went to the Great Hall for lunch. As they sat down, Ron asked Harry and Claire, "You haven't seen a great black dog anywhere, have you?"

"Yeah, I have," Harry said. "I saw one the night I left the Dursleys'."

Ron let his fork fall with a clatter. "And you Claire?"

"Well, I saw one at Diagon Alley when we were shopping for our school supplies." Claire said.

"Probably a stray," Hermione said calmly.

Ron looked at Hermione as though she was crazy.

"Hermione, if they've seen a Grim, that's-that's bad," he said. "My- my uncle Bilius saw one and-and he died twenty-four hours later!"

"Coincidence," Hermione said airily, pouring herself some pumpkin juice.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Ron said, starting to get angry. "Grims scare the living daylights out of most wizards!"

"There you are, then," Hermione said in a superior tone. "They see the Grim and die of fright. The grim's not an omen, it's the cause of death! And Claire and Harry are still with us because they're not stupid enough to see one and think, right, well, I'd better kick the bucket then!"

Ron mouthed wordlessly at Hermione, who opened her bag, took out her new Arthimancy book, and propped it open against the juice jug.

"I think Divination seems very woolly," she said, searching for her page. "A lot of guesswork, if you ask me."

"I enjoyed the class," Claire said. "Up until the whole Grim incident."

"There was nothing woolly about the Grim in that cup!" Ron said hotly.

"You didn't seem so confident when you were telling Harry it was a sheep," Hermione said coolly.

"Professor Trelawney said you didn't have the right aura! You just don't like being bad at something for a change!"

He had touched a nerve. Hermione slammed her Arthimancy book down on the table so hard that bits of meat and carrot flew everywhere.

"If being good at Divination means I have to pretend to see death omens in a lump of tea leaves, I'm not sure I'll be studying it much longer! That lesson was absolute rubbish compared with my Arthimancy class!"

She snatched up her bag and stalked away. Ron frowned after her.

"What's she talking about?" he said to Harry. "She hasn't been to an Arthimancy class yet."

Ron then looked at Claire. "You wouldn't happen to know, would you Claire?"

"Even if I did, I couldn't tell you," Claire said. "Now, I'm going to get a head start on my Muggle Studies homework before our next class. See you two later."

"She hasn't been to her Muggle Studies class yet though." Ron said as Claire left. "There's something going on with them."

Claire walked to the library. When she arrived there, she saw Hermione working on her Arthimancy homework. Hermione looked up as Claire sat down in front of her.

"You didn't tell him, did you?" Hermione questioned.

"No," Claire said. "Remember what Professor McGonagall said? She said we couldn't tell anyone."

Claire pulled out her Muggle Studies book and Care of Magical Creatures book _The Monster Book of Monsters_.

"So, we have Hagrid's class next," Claire said. "Any idea how we're suppose to open these….books?"

Hermione shook her head. "I feel as though it's something really simple. I mean the book acts like an animal when you try to open it. There must be some way to open it without it trying to tear off your arm."

Claire thought for a few moments. "Maybe you have to stroke the spine or something."

Hermione shrugged. "It can't hurt to try."

Claire cautiously stroke the spine of the book and, to both her and Hermione's amazement, it opened.

"Well, you weren't kidding when you said it'd be something really simple." Claire said.

When lunch ended, Claire, Hermione, Ron, and Harry met up to walk down to Care of Magical Creatures class together. Ron and Hermione weren't speaking to each other, which Claire and Harry were becoming accustom to. They soon reached Hagrid's hut and spotted four familiar backs ahead of them. They realized in that moment they'd be having the class with Slytherins.

"Oh, great," Claire muttered sarcastically.

Malfoy was talking animatedly to Crabbe and Goyle while Jason Saxton, the Durmstrang transfer student from last year, was leaning up against a tree. Claire noticed that he looked a bit different from last year. He'd grown at least several inches and his hair had grown out slightly making it look like a mini afro. Jason must've noticed Claire was staring at him because he caught her eye and gave her a sly smile and a wink. Claire rolled her eyes and turned her attention to Hagrid, who was waiting for his class at the door of his hut. He stood in his moleskin overcoat, with Fang at his heels, looking impatient to start.

"C'mon, now, get a move on!" he called as the class approached. "Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!"

They followed Hagrid around the edge of trees to a small paddock. There was nothing in there.

"Everyone gather 'round the fence here!" he called. "That's it-make sure yeh can see- now firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books-"

"How?" Draco Malfoy said in a cold, drawling voice.

"Eh?" Hagrid said.

"How do we open our books?" Malfoy repeated. He took out his copy of_ The Monster Book of Monsters_, which he bound shut with a length of rope.

"Hasn'-hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?" Hagrid said looking crestfallen.

Claire raised her hand. "You have to stroke the spine."

Claire demonstrated how to open the book and the class seemed surprised that it didn't bite off her hand.

"Good job, Claire!" Hagrid praised. "Five points ter Gryffindor!"

"Oh, how silly we've all been!" Malfoy sneered. "We should have stroked them! Why didn't we guess!"

"Shut up, Malfoy," Claire said.

"Righ' then," Hagrid said, "so-so yeh've got yer books an'-an'-now yeh need the Magical Creatures. Yeah. So I'll go an' get 'em. Hang on…."

He strode away from them into the forest and out of sight.

"God, this place is going to the dogs," Malfoy said loudly. "That oaf teaching classes, my father'll have a fit when I tell him-"

"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry said.

"Careful, Potter, there's a dementor behind you-"

"Oooooooh!" Lavender Brown squealed, pointing toward the opposite side of the paddock.

Trotting toward them were a dozen of the most bizarre creatures Harry had ever seen. They had the bodies, hind legs, and tails of horses, but the front legs, wings, and heads of what seemed to be giant eagles, with cruel, steel-colored beaks and large, orange eyes. The talons on their front legs were half a foot long and deadly looking. Each of the beasts had a thick leather collar around its neck, which was attached to a long chain, and the end of all of these were held in the vast hands of Hagrid, who came jogging into the paddock behind the creatures.

"Hippogriffs!" Hagrid roared happily, waving a hand at them. "Beau'iful, aren' they? Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know is they're proud. Easily offended, Hippogriffs are. Don't never insult one, 'cause it migh' be the las' thing yeh do. Right then-who wants ter come an' say hello?"

The entire class took a step back except for Harry.

"Good man, Harry!" Hagrid said. "Right then- let's see how yeh get on with Buckbeak."

Harry looked around and then behind himself to see the class had taken a step back.

"Gee, thanks," Harry muttered to Claire, Ron, and Hermione.

"No, problem," Claire teased.

Harry reluctantly took a step forward.

"You think he'll be alright?" Hermione said.

"This is Harry we're talking about. He's defeated Voldemort- _Really, Ron? Get over it._- twice and defeated a giant snake. I think he'll be fine with a Hippogriff as long as he listens to Hagrid." Claire said. She then looked towards Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Saxton and noticed they weren't paying attention at all to Hagrid's lesson. "However, I think Malfoy and his goons won't be as they aren't paying attention."

Ron and Hermione looked towards them.

"He's probably planning out how he's going to ruin Hagrid's first lesson." Ron said.

"Wouldn't put it below him to do such a thing," Claire said.

They turned their attention to Harry.

"Yeh always wait fer the hippogriff ter make the firs' move," Hagrid continued. "It's polite, see? Yeh walk toward him, and yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him. If he doesn' bow, then get away from him, 'cause those talons hurt. Easy, now, Harry." Hagrid said quietly as Harry slowly made his way to Buckbeak. "Yeh've got eye contact, now try not ter blink….Hippogriffs don' trust yeh if yeh blink too much…."

Harry's eyes immediately began to water, but he didn't shut them. Buckbeak had turned his great, sharp head and was staring at Harry with one fierce orange eye.

"Tha's it," Hagrid said. "Tha's it, Harry….now, bow…."

Harry gave a short bow and then looked up. The hippogriff was still staring haughtily at him. It didn't move.

"Ah," Hagrid said, sounding worried. "Right- back away, now, Harry, easy does it-"

But then, to Harry's surprise, the hippogriff suddenly bent its scaly front knees and sank into what was an unmistakable bow.

"Well done, Harry!" Hagrid said, ecstatic. "Right-yeh can touch him! Pat his beak, go on!"

Harry moved slowly toward the hippogriff and reached out toward it. He patted the beak several times and the hippogriff closed its eyes lazily, as though enjoying it. Harry smiled glad that he wasn't attack by the hippogriff.

"Righ' then, Harry," Hagrid said. "I reckon he might' let yeh ride him!"

Harry's smile dropped. "Excuse me?"

"We'll jus' set yeh behind the wing joint. Mind yeh don' pull any feathers out. He won' like that." Hagrid said, as he lifted Harry onto Buckbeak.

"Go on, then!" Hagrid roared, slapping the hippogriff's hindquarters.

Without warning, twelve-foot wings flapped open on either side of Harry; he just had time to seize the hippogriff around the neck before he was soaring upward. Claire, Hermione, and Ron watched in amazement as the hippogriff took off.

Several minutes later, Harry and Buckbeak returned and Hagrid told Harry, "Good work!"

"How'm I doin' me firs' day?" Hagrid asked Harry under his breath.

"Brilliant….Professor." Harry said.

Just then, Draco pushed past them roughly toward Buckbeak.

"Give me a go at that thing." Draco said. "If Potter can do it, it must be easy. You're not dangerous at all, are you, you great ugly brute-"

"Malfoy! No!" Hagrid exclaimed.

But it was too late. Buckbeak's steely talons slashed down on Malfoy. He let out a high-pitched scream and Hagrid wrestled Buckbeak back into his collar as he strained to get at Malfoy, who laid curled in the grass, blood blossoming over his robes.

"I'm dying!" Malfoy yelled as the class panicked. "I'm dying, look at me! It's killed me!"

"Yer not dyin'!" Hagrid said, who had gone very white. "Someone help me— gotta get him outta here—"

Hermione ran to open the gate as Hagrid lifted Malfoy easily. As they passed, Harry saw that there was a long, deep gash on Malfoy's arm; blood splattered the grass and Hagrid ran with him, up the slope toward the castle.

Very shaken, the Care of Magical Creatures class followed at a walk. The Slytherins were all shouting about Hagrid.

"They should fire him straight away!" Pansy Parkinson said, who was in tears.

"It was Malfoy's fault!" Dean Thomas snapped. Crabbe and Goyle flexed their muscles threateningly.

They all climbed the stone steps into the deserted entrance hall.

"I'm going to see if he's okay!" Pansy said, and they all watched her run up the marble staircase. The Slytherins, still muttering about Hagrid, headed away in the direction of their dungeon common room; Harry, Claire, Ron, and Hermione proceeded upstairs to the Gryffindor Tower.

"D'you think he'll be all right?" Hermione said nervously.

"'Course he will. Madam Pomfrey can mend cuts in about a second," Harry said, who had had far worse injuries mended magically by the nurse.

"That was a really bad thing to happen in Hagrid's first class, though, wasn't it?" Ron said, looking worried.

"Trust Malfoy to screw things up for Hagrid." Claire said.

They were among the first to reach the Great Hall at dinnertime, hoping to see Hagrid, which they did. Hagrid still looked a bit upset as he ate his food at the teacher's table. The four friends noticed that Malfoy was sitting at the Slytherin table with his arm bound in a sling.

"Does it hurt terribly, Draco?" Pansy asked, concerned.

"It comes and goes." Draco said, a tad theatrical. "Still…I consider myself lucky. According to Madam Pomfrey, another minute or two….and I could've lost the arm."

"Too bad he didn't." Claire muttered, as they sat down at the table. "That little git. He's really laying it on thick, isn't he?"

"At least Hagrid didn't get sacked." Harry said.

"Yes," Hermione agreed. "But I hear Draco's father's furious. I don't think we've heard the end of this…."

"Well, I will personally tell Draco's father that his son is a complete idiot who should've listened to Hagrid instead of trying to show up Harry." Claire said.

"He's been sighted!" Seamus exclaimed.

The four friends turned to Seamus and the other Gryffindors who were huddled together over a copy of The Daily Prophet.

"Who?" Ron asked.

"Sirius Black," Seamus said.

Hermione read over the shoulders of the Gryffindors.

"Achintee? That's not far from here…." Hermione said, sending a worried look towards Claire and Harry.

"You don't think he'd come to Hogwarts, do you?" Neville said, fearfully.

"With the Dementors at every entrance?" Lavender said.

"He's already slipped by them once. Who's to say he can't do it again?" Seamus said.

* * *

><p><em>This chapter was kind of cool to write. I really liked writing the whole Knight in the portrait bit. For the tea leaf reading I actually researched it. I found some symbols that I felt would foreshadow events that are going to happen in the series. Jason made a brief appearance in this chapter. You'll be seeing more of him later on. <em>

_Reply to Reviews:_

_Rainpelt the Doctor: Thanks!_

_NicoleR85: You'll find out in the next few chapters if Lupin is protective over Claire like he is with Harry. _

_OliviaNeith: I did enjoy writing Draco getting hurt by Buckbeak. _


	7. The Fender, The Drums, and The Solo

Chapter 7: The Fender, The Drums, and The Solo

The next day in their double Potion class, Malfoy sauntered into the room with his bandaged up arm, acting as though he were the heroic survivor of some dreadful battle.

"How is it, Draco?" Pansy simpered. "Does it feel better than it did yesterday?"

"Yeah," Malfoy said, putting on a brave sort of grimace. But Claire saw him wink at Crabbe and Goyle when Pansy had looked away. Claire rolled her eyes and suppressed the temptation of cursing Malfoy for faking his injury.

"Settle down, settle down," Professor Snape said idly. "Today you will be brewing a new potion today. A Shrinking Solution."

"Sir," Malfoy called, "sir, I'll need help cutting up these daisy roots, because of my arm—"

"Smith, cut up Malfoy's roots for him," Snape said without looking up.

_Really of all the people?_ Claire thought angrily. She glared at Malfoy as she went over to his table.

"There's nothing wrong with your arm," Claire hissed at Malfoy.

Malfoy smirked at her.

"Smith, you heard Professor Snape; cut up these roots."

Claire seized his knife, pulled Malfoy's roots towards her, and began to chop them roughly.

"Professor," drawled Malfoy, "Smith's mutilating my roots, sir."

_Oh, I'll show you mutilating._ Claire thought.

Snape approached their table, stared down his hooked nose at the roots, then gave Claire an unpleasant smile from beneath his long, greasy black hair.

"Change roots with Malfoy, Smith."

"No, it's his own damn fault he _'hurt'_ his arm!" Claire said, getting fed up.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for foul language." Snape sneered. "Now, change roots with Malfoy, Smith or you'll be joining me for detention."

Claire didn't want to do either but decided to take the first option. It was probably a good thing Snape couldn't read her mind at that moment because he would've given her detention for the choice of words she was using. She grabbed her daisy roots and began cutting them up properly.

"And, sir, I'll need this shrivelfig skinned," Malfoy said, his voice full of malicious laughter.

"Potter, you can skin Malfoy's shrivelfig," Snape said, giving Harry the look of loathing he always reserved just for him.

Harry took Malfoy's shrivelfig and skinned it as fast as possible. He flung it back across the table at Malfoy without speaking. Malfoy was smirking more broadly than ever.

"Seen your pal Hagrid lately?" he asked them quietly.

"I don't see how that's any of your business, Malfoy," Claire said jerkily.

"I'm afraid he won't be a teacher much longer," Malfoy said in a tone of mock sorrow. "Father's not very happy about my injury—"

"Keep talking, Malfoy, and I'll give you a _real_ injury," Claire snarled.

"—he's complained to the school governors. _And_ to the Ministry of Magic. Father's got a lot of influence, you know. And a lasting injury like this"—he gave a huge, fake sigh— "who knows if my arm'll ever be the same again?"

"So that's why you're putting it on," Harry said, accidentally beheading a dead caterpillar because his hand was shaking in anger. "To try to get Hagrid fired."

"Well," Malfoy said, lowering his voice to a whisper, "_partly,_ Potter. But there are other benefits too. Smith, slice my caterpillars for me."

A few cauldrons away Neville was in trouble. Neville regularly went to pieces in Potions lessons; it was his worst subject, and his great fear of Professor Snape made things ten times worse. Snape was currently yelling at Neville for not adding the correct amount of rat spleens and leech juice. Hermione had offered to help but Snape wouldn't hear it.

"Heard about the Black sighting, Smith, Potter?" Malfoy said, casually.

"Yeah," Harry said. "He was last spotted in Achintee."

"Thinking of trying to catch Black single-handed, Potter?" Malfoy asked.

"Yeah, that's right," Harry said offhandedly.

Malfoy's thin mouth was curving in a mean smile.

"Of course, if it was me," he said quietly, "I'd have done something before now. I wouldn't be staying in school like a good boy, I'd be out there looking for him."

"What are you talking about, Malfoy?" Claire said roughly.

"Don't you know, Potter?" Malfoy breathed, his pale eyes narrowed.

"Know what?"

Malfoy let out a low, sneering laugh.

"Maybe you'd rather not risk your neck," he said. "Want to leave it to the dementors, do you? But if it was me, I'd want revenge. I'd hunt him down myself."

"What are you talking about?" Harry said angrily.

"Or maybe you just don't want to upset Smith," Malfoy said. "After all, Black is her uncle and is technically all the family she has left. Though you probably shouldn't worry seeing as he would probably abandon her just like her parents."

The bell rang at the moment, which was a good thing, because Claire would've hexed Malfoy into oblivion. She threw her bag over her shoulder and practically ran out of the classroom to get to their next class. Several thoughts ran through her head. First, how the hell did Malfoy know Sirius Black was her uncle? Second, how could he just say that Black would just leave her like her parents? _Maybe he's right though._ She thought. _This is Malfoy we're talking about. Since when is he right? Besides Black is a murdering, lunatic. I wouldn't want him to take me in._

"Smith!"

"Listen, Mal-," Claire turned around and found herself face to face with Jason Saxton. "You're not Malfoy. What do _you_ want Saxton?"

"I just wanted to see if you were alright." Saxton said. "You sort of just ran out of the classroom. Looked like something Malfoy said made you angry."

"First of all, since when do you care about how I feel?" Claire questioned. "And as far as Malfoy goes, everything he does makes me irritated."

"Just because I come from Durmstrang Institute and I'm in Slytherin doesn't mean that I can't care about other people's feelings." Saxton replied.

"Really? Because if I recall you didn't seem to care about those girls' feelings when they were fighting over that book in the bookshop." Claire said.

"It seems whenever I try to have a civil conversation with you, you're mind is_ clouded_ with that incident," Saxton said, growing a bit agitated.

"Don't go quoting Professor Trelawney," Claire said. "And yes it is because that was my first impression of you as a person and it definitely was not the best one."

"OK, I admit, I sort of came off as an arse," Saxton admitted.

"You got that right," Claire muttered.

"But still, shouldn't you be the better person and give me a second chance to show you that there's more that meets the eye than what you saw at the bookstore?" Saxton asked.

Claire knew he was right, which was hard for her to admit.

"I suppose," Claire sighed. "But why exactly do you want me to give you a second chance?"

"Because I feel like we could be good friends if you did." Saxton replied.

"Friends?" Claire raised her eyebrow. "Why would you want to be friends with me? You're a Slytherin and I'm a Gryffindor. We're not suppose to be friends."

"Maybe we should break that tradition then." Saxton said. "Look, just consider it at least. I have to go to my next class. And whatever Malfoy said don't let it get to you."

When Saxton left, Harry, Hermione, and Ron found Claire.

"There you are, Claire." Hermione said relieved. "Are you alright? What happened?"

"I'm fine." Claire said. "Let's get to our next class. I'll explain on the way."

As they were walking to Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry and Claire explained what happened with their conversation with Malfoy.

"How could Malfoy possibly know that Sirius Black is Claire's uncle?" Hermione said in a whisper.

"Who knows," Ron shrugged.

"Doesn't it seem suspicious that he knows? Why hasn't he told anyone?" Hermione questioned.

"Maybe his father found out. You heard Malfoy bragging about how his father knows powerful people. And maybe his father told Malfoy not to tell anyone because he'd get in trouble or something." Ron suggested.

"I suppose," Hermione said doubtfully.

"What I want to know is why he'd think I'd want revenge on Black. Black hasn't down anything to me—yet." Harry said.

"He was probably making it up," Ron said savagely. "He's trying to make you do something stupid…."

"Or maybe he knows something about Black that we don't know." Claire said.

They soon entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and noticed there was a wardrobe. It began to wobble.

"What's with the wardrobe?" Claire said.

Professor Lupin wasn't there when they arrived at his first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. They all sat down, took out their books, quills, and parchment, and were talking when he finally entered the room. Lupin smiled vaguely and placed his tattered old briefcase on the teacher's desk. He was as shabby as ever but looked healthier than he had on the train.

"Good afternoon," he said. "Would you please put all your books back in your bags. Today's will be a practical lesson. You will need only your wands."

A few curious looks were exchanged as the class put away their books.

"Right then," Professor Lupin said, when everyone was ready. "If you'd stand up in front of this wardrobe we can get this lesson started."

The students did as they were told. They eyed the wardrobe, which was rattling violently, warily.

"Intriguing, yes?" Professor Lupin said. "Would anyone like to venture a guess as to what's inside?"

"That's a Boggart, that is." Seamus said in a hushed voice.

"Very good, Mr. Finnigan. Can anyone tell us what a Boggart looks like?" Professor Lupin asked.

"No one knows." Hermione answered. "Boggarts are shape-shifters. They take the shape of whatever a particular person fears most. That's what makes it so—"

"Terrifying, yes. Luckily, a very simple charm exists to repel a Boggart. Let's practice it now, shall we? Without wands, please…_.Riddikulus!_" Professor Lupin instructed.

_"Riddikulus!"_ The class repeated.

"Good. So much for the easy part. You see, the incantation alone is not enough. What really finishes a Boggart off is laughter. You need to force it to assume a shape you find truly amusing. Neville, come up here, will you?" Professor Lupin said.

Neville hesitated keeping his eyes on the rattling wardrobe.

"What would you say is the thing that frightens you most?" Professor Lupin asked.

Neville mumbled something underneath his breath.

"Didn't catch that, Neville, sorry," Professor Lupin said cheerfully.

"Professor Snape." Neville said in barely more than a whisper.

Nearly everyone laughed. Even Neville grinned apologetically. Professor Lupin, however, looked thoughtful.

"Professor Snape….hmmm..Neville, I believe you live with your grandmother?"

"Er—yes," Neville said nervously. "But—I don't want the boggart to turn into her either."

"No, no, you misunderstand me," Professor Lupin said, now smiling. "I want you to picture her clothes, only her clothes, very clearly in your mind. Can you do that?"

Neville nodded, still uncertain.

"Now, when I open this wardrobe, Neville, here's what I want you to do…." Professor Lupin leaned close to Neville and whispered something. Neville's eyes popped open in shock.

"You can do this, Neville." Professor Lupin encouraged him.

Neville nodded nervously and took a deep breath as Professor Lupin stood next to the wardrobe.

"Now," Professor Lupin directed to the whole class, "if Neville is successful, the boggart is likely to shift his attention to each of us in turn. I would like all of you to take a moment now to think of the thing that scares you most, and imagine how you might force it to look comical….."

Claire thought about the thing she feared the most. What did she fear? The first thing she thought about were the dreams she had. She remembered the Weeping Angels but they were more creepy than scary. Then she remembered something that all her dreams had in common; the sound of drums. How could she be afraid of drums? What did they represent? She could hear Ron muttering next to her saying, "Take its legs off." Claire knew that Ron's greatest fear was spiders.

"Everyone ready?" Professor Lupin said. "Neville, we're going to back away. Let you have a clear field, all right? I'll call the next person forward….Everyone back, now, so Neville can get a clear shot—"

They all retreated leaving Neville alone beside the wardrobe. He looked pale and frightened, but he had pushed up the sleeves of his robes and was holding his wand ready.

"On the count of three, Neville," Professor Lupin said, who was pointing his wand at the handle of the wardrobe. "One—two—three—now!"

A jet of sparks shot from his wand and hit the doorknob. The wardrobe burst open. Hook-nosed and menacing, Professor Snape stepped out, his eyes flashing at Neville. Neville backed away, his wand up, mouthing wordlessly. Snape was bearing down upon him, reaching inside his robes.

_"R—r—riddikulus!"_ Neville squeaked.

There was a noise like a whip crack. Snape stumbled; he was wearing a long, lace-trimmed dress and a towering hat topped with a moth-eaten vulture, and he was swinging a huge crimson handbag.

There was a roar of laughter; the boggart passed, confused, and Professor Lupin shouted, "Parvati! Forward!"

Parvati's boggart was a stained, bandaged mummy.

_"Riddikulus!"_ Parvati cried.

The bandage around the mummy's feet unraveled; it became entangled, fell face forward, and its head rolled off.

"Seamus!" Professor Lupin roared.

Seamus' boggart turned into a woman with floor length black hair and a skeletal, green-tinged face—a banshee. She opened her mouth wide and an unearthly sound filled the room, a long, wailing shriek—

_"Riddikulus!"_ Seamus shouted.

The banshee made a rasping noise and clutched her throat; her voice was gone. _Crack!_ The banshee turned into a rat, which chased its tail in a circle, then—_crack!_—became a rattlesnake, which slithered and writhed before—_crack!_—becoming a single, bloody eyeball.

"It's confused!" Lupin shouted. "We're getting there! Dean!"

Dean hurried forward. The eyeball became a severed hand, which flipped over and began to creep along the floor like a crab.

_"Riddikulus!"_ Dean yelled.

There was a snap, and the hand was trapped in a mousetrap.

"Give it a try, Claire!" Lupin shouted.

Claire took a step forward.

_Crack!_

At first she thought the boggart had disappeared.

"Where'd it go?" Seamus questioned.

Suddenly, there was a faint drumming sound and two figures appeared. She recognized the two figures as her parents.

"You were a mistake!" her mother exclaimed, as the drumming got louder.

"We never wanted you!" her father yelled.

Claire felt anger built up inside her as she yelled, _"Riddikulus!"_

A giant eraser appeared and erased the figures and the drumming stopped.

"Excellent! Ron, you next!"

Ron leapt forward.

_Crack!_

Quite a few people screamed. A giant spider, six feet tall and covered in hair, was advancing on Ron, clicking its pincers menacingly. For a moment, Claire thought Ron had frozen. Then—

_"Riddikulus!"_ bellowed Ron, and the spider's legs vanished; it rolled over and over; Lavender Brown squealed and ran out of its way and it came to a halt at Harry's feet. He raised his wand, ready, but—

"Here!" shouted Professor Lupin suddenly, hurrying forward.

_Crack!_

The legless spider had vanished. For a second, everyone looked wildly around to see where it was. Then they saw a silvery-white orb hanging in the air in front of Lupin, who said, _"Riddikulus!"_ almost lazily. The orb turned into a balloon, deflated, whizzed around crazily, then darted back into the wardrobe. The door slammed shut and the class cheered.

"Well done, everyone! I think that's enough excitement for today. Five points to each student's house who successfully defeated their boggart. For homework, kindly read the chapter on boggarts and summarize it for me…to be handed in on Monday. That will be all." Professor Lupin said.

"I wonder why Professor Lupin's afraid of crystal balls." Lavender Brown said as the students left the classroom.

"That was the best Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson we've ever had, wasn't it?" Ron said excitedly as they walked to the Gryffindor common room.

"He seems like a very good teacher," Hermione said, approvingly. "But I wish I could have had a turn with the boggart—"

"What would it have been for you?" Ron said, sniggering. "A piece of homework that only got nine out of ten?"

Claire smacked Ron upside the head.

"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed, rubbing his head where she hit him.

"You shouldn't make fun of people's fears Ron." Claire said. "Just because it's not scary to you doesn't mean it's not to others."

Ron didn't say anything. They soon reached the Gryffindor common room.

"Why do you think Professor Lupin kept me from facing my boggart?" Harry asked suddenly.

"Maybe he knew your boggart would be Voldemort and didn't want the other students to face it," Hermione suggested.

"But I don't think my boggart would've been Voldemort," Harry said.

"Well, what else could it have been?" Ron questioned.

Claire remembered on the train how Harry seemed a bit freaked out by the dementors.

"Dementors, your boggart would've been a dementor, wouldn't it?" Claire said.

"Yea," Harry said. "How'd you know?"

"You seemed freaked out by the dementors on the train," Claire replied.

"Claire," Hermione began. "What exactly was your boggart? I mean, there was the sound of drums but who were the two people?"

"I don't know," Claire lied. "I'm going to go and do that homework we were assigned by Professor Lupin."

Claire went upstairs to the girls' dormitory.

"I think I know who the two people are," Ron said.

"Who?" Hermione questioned.

"Her parents." Ron answered. "I remember because she showed me a long time ago the picture in her locket of her parents and her as a baby."

"It makes sense. She's always been sensitive on the subject of her parents." Hermione said. "Why did they leave her by the way?"

Ron shrugged. "Don't know. I don't even think she knows. She's tried to ask my parents for the longest time and they don't tell her much about them. She probably wouldn't even know what they look like if it hadn't of been for the locket she's had since she arrived at our house."

"Do you think your parents know the reason why Claire's parents left her?" Hermione asked.

"If they did, they probably wouldn't tell her." Ron answered.

"Why?" Harry said. "Claire has the right to know at least why they left her."

"Well, dad would probably tell her," Ron said, "but mum wouldn't. And it's possible that my parents really have no clue why Claire's parents left her."

"Maybe her parents were in danger and they left Claire with your parents so she wouldn't get hurt." Hermione said.

"But why would her parents be in danger?" Harry questioned.

"Well, perhaps it involves Sirius Black. After all, Claire's mother was his twin. Maybe he tried to get her to join the dark side and she wouldn't so he threatened her life and maybe even Claire's. Her mother had no choice but to give Claire to the Weasley's." Hermione said.

"But then that would've left Claire in danger." Harry stated.

"Not entirely. Ron, your father works for the Ministry of Magic, right?" Hermione asked.

Ron nodded.

"Well," Hermione continued. "He could've provided better protection for Claire than her parents."

"All I know is that whatever the reason her parents left it must've been bad for them to leave their only child." Harry said.

* * *

><p><em>When it came to Claire's boggart I was debating between several ideas and finally decided on her parents and the drums. One, of course, were her parents. She doesn't know the real reason why they left her (well Ron's parents told her it was because of a man who was after her and they decided to leave her with the Weasleys) but she still feels as though there are other reasons besides that and so it would be her worst fear for her parents to have abandoned her because they didn't want her. Second, was the sound of the drums. I mean in all her dreams she hears the drums and she doesn't know why so it should freak her out a bit. The title for this chapter is probably my favorite. I just like the musical terms I used for it. Anyway, I said you'll be seeing more of Jason and here he is in this chapter! Not really sure yet when he'll appear again. What did you think of Jason's and Claire's conversation? Is Jason right or is Claire right? Thanks for reading this story! It makes my day whenever I read reviews so please review! <em>

_Reply to Reviews:_

_Natekleh: I don't know, maybe. You'll have to wait and see._

_NicoleR85: Glad you liked it! You'll slowly get to know Jason and his heritage. _

_Rukia-chappy (Guest): He really doesn't and me too. The only thing that Malfoy and Claire have in common is the temper._

_TENZA (Guest): Well, you notice how Harry didn't say anything when Hermione said that the Knight had a crush on Claire. There's a hint. You'll find out later on in the series what the two grims mean. _

_Ghostwriter71: Thank you! That Siriusly (sorry just had to do it) made my day. When I was writing that whole Knight in the picture scene I could just picture Ron trying to make fun of Claire about it and I thought it'd be funny if Claire said that to him. I will tell you that Lupin definitely knew about Carina being Sirius' twin sister. Carina did go to school the same time as the Marauders since you know she's the same age as Sirius. As far as if Claire's mother is good or bad you'll find out later on. _

_Rainpelt the Doctor: Good guesses about the Grim. I'll say that guess 2 and 3 are close to what the two Grims mean but I'm not giving away exactly what they mean yet._


	8. Hogsmeade, Tea, and Conversations

Chapter 8: Hogsmeade, Tea, and Conversations

It was now October and Defense Against the Dark Arts had become most people's favorite class. Only Draco Malfoy and his gang of Slytherins had anything bad to say about Professor Lupin. Malfoy would make fun of Lupin's tattered, old robes in a loud whisper as Professor Lupin passed by.

But no else cared that Professor Lupin's robes were patched and frayed. It seemed the next lessons were just as interesting as the first. After boggarts, they studied Red Caps, nasty little goblin like creatures that lurked wherever there had been bloodshed. From Red Caps they moved on to kappas, creepy water-dwellers that looked like scaly monkeys, with webbed hands itching to strangle unwitting waders in their ponds.

If only all their classes could've been as exciting as their Defense class. Potions was miserable as ever. Snape had heard of Neville's boggart and it was obvious he didn't find it funny. Snape's eyes would flash menacingly at the mention of Professor Lupin and he was bullying Neville worse than ever.

Claire and Harry were beginning to dread the hours they spent in Professor Trelawney's stifling tower room, deciphering lopsided shapes and symbols, trying to ignore the way Professor Trelawney's enormous eyes filled with tears every time she looked at them. They couldn't like Trelawney, even though she was treated with respect bordering reverence by many of the class. Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown had taken to visiting Trelawney's tower room at lunchtimes, and always returned with annoyingly superior looks on their faces, as though they knew things the others didn't. They would speak in hushed voices whenever they spoke to Claire and Harry, as though they were on their deathbed.

Nobody really liked Care of Magical Creatures, which, after the action-packed first class, had become dull. Hagrid seemed to have lost his confidence. They were now spending their lessons learning how to look after flobberworms, which had to be some of the most boring creatures in existence.

"Why would anyone _bother_ looking after them?" Ron said, after yet another hour of poking shredded lettuce down the flobberworm's slimy throats.

The bell rang and they handed in the flobberworms.

"Thank Merlin the bell rang," Claire said. "I don't know how much longer I can take of that class. If Malfoy hadn't of gotten hurt, I bet we'd be having as much fun in that class as Defense."

"Yea, but Malfoy just had to go and mess up things," Ron muttered.

They walked to the Gryffindor common room. Once they were sitting in the common room, Fred and George, who were dressed in their Quidditch gear, came over to them. Harry, who realized he was sitting a bit close to Claire, moved a few inches away from her hoping the twins weren't coming over to scold him about being so close to her.

"There you are, Harry," Fred began.

"Wood scheduled a Quidditch practice for today." George finished.

"Oh, er—thanks," Harry said, relieved.

Harry disappeared upstairs to get his Quidditch gear. Fred and George followed Harry.

"So, what should we do while Harry's at practice?" Claire asked Ron and Hermione.

"Homework. We haven't started that Muggle Studies assignment. It's due next Friday, you know." Hermione answered, pulling out her Muggle Studies book.

"Hermione, we were assigned it today. We have plenty of time." Claire said waving her hand dismissively.

"Maybe you do, but I certainly do not. I have multiple assignments I need to get done for each of my classes." Hermione said, looking stressed.

"Hermione," Claire began, "are you sure you don't want to drop some of your courses. I mean it's only been a month and I can see the stress getting to you already."

"Claire's right Hermione." Ron said. "Maybe you should drop a few classes."

"No," Hermione shook her head. "I'm fine. But I promise if I can't handle the pressure I will drop some of my courses, ok?"

While Harry was at Quidditch practice, Claire and Ron decided to play Wizards chess while Hermione was catching up with her schoolwork. It had only been twenty minutes since Harry had left for Quidditch practice when Professor McGonagall came through the portrait. She walked over to the bulletin board hanging up a piece of paper. The students in the common room sent curious looks towards the paper. Professor McGonagall cleared her throat before turning her attention to them.

"The first Hogsmeade trip date is now posted. I must remind you in order to attend you must have your permission slip signed by a parent or guardian and you must be in your third year. I will be collecting your slips the day of the trip."

When she left, the whole common room seemed to be buzzing with excitement as people went up to the bulletin board to find out the date. Claire, Ron, and Hermione went to go check out the dates.

"How exciting." Hermione said, reading the paper. "It's the end of this month on Halloween."

"Finally," Ron said. "Fred and George always brag about how fun it is. Now we'll get to see what all the buzz's about."

"Let me know how that goes," Claire said disappointed.

"Aren't you going?" Hermione asked.

Claire shook her head. "I tried to get Ron's parents to sign the permission slip and let's just say I don't think my eardrums will ever fully recover."

"Why won't they let you go?" Ron asked.

"Isn't it obvious, Ron?" Hermione said. She then whispered, "It's because of Sirius Black."

"So," Ron began, "it's not like he'd try something with all the people at Hogsmeade."

"It didn't stop him from murdering thirteen muggles in open air." Claire muttered.

Just then, the Gryffindor Quidditch team walked into the common room. Harry went over to Claire, Hermione, and Ron to see why everyone in the common room seemed to be excited.

"Hey, Harry," Claire greeted him.

"Hey," Harry said. "Why does everyone seem excited?"

Harry noticed that Claire seemed disappointed as Ron told him that Hogsmeade weekend was coming up.

"Excellent," Fred said, who had overheard their conversation. "I need to visit Zonko's. I'm nearly out of Stink Pellets."

"Oh," was all Harry said. "Hope you three have a good time."

"You're not going either?" Ron questioned.

"No, the Dursleys didn't sign my permission form." Harry answered gloomily. "And what do you mean that I'm not going either? Who else isn't going?"

"I can't go either." Claire said. "Ron's parents wouldn't sign my permission slip because of Black."

"Why don't you two try and get Professor McGonagall to sign it?" Ron suggested.

"Ron!" Hermione said. "They're supposed to _stay_ in school."

"And besides the forms have to be signed by a parent or a guardian." Claire added.

Suddenly, Crookshanks leapt lightly onto Hermione's lap. A large, dead spider was dangling from his mouth.

"Does he _have_ to eat that in_ front_ of us?" Ron said, scowling.

"I figured you'd be happy the cat chose to eat a spider instead of your rat." Claire teased.

"Clever Crookshanks, did you catch that all by yourself?" Hermione said.

Crookshanks slowly chewed up the spider, his yellow eyes fixed insolently on Ron. To Claire it looked like the cat was purposely trying to gross Ron out.

"Just keep him over there, that's all," Ron said irritably. "I've got Scabbers asleep in my bag."

"So, how was Quidditch practice?" Claire asked Harry.

"It was good—" Harry was cut off by Crookshanks pouncing on Ron's bag.

"OY!" Ron roared, seizing his bag as Crookshanks sank four sets of claws deep inside it and began tearing ferociously. "GET OFF, YOU STUPID ANIMAL!"

Ron tried to pull the bag from Crookshanks, but Crookshanks clung on, spitting and slashing.

"Ron, don't hurt him!" Hermione squealed; the whole common room was watching; Ron whirled the bag around, Crookshanks still clinging to it, and Scabbers came flying out of the top—

"CATCH THAT CAT!" Ron yelled as Crookshanks freed himself from the remnants of the bag, sprang over the table, and chased after the terrified Scabbers.

George Weasley made a lunge for Crookshanks but missed; Scabbers streaked through twenty pairs of legs and shot beneath an old chest of drawers. Crookshanks skidded to a halt, crouched low on his bandy legs, and started making furious swipes beneath it with his front paw.

Ron and Hermione hurried over; Hermione grabbed Crookshanks around the middle and heaved him away; Ron threw himself onto his stomach and, with great difficulty, pulled Scabbers out by the tail.

"Look at him!" he said furiously to Hermione, dangling Scabbers in front of her. "He's skin and bone! You keep that cat away from him!"

"Crookshanks doesn't understand it's wrong!" Hermione said, her voice shaking. "All cats chase rats, Ron!"

"There's something funny about that animal!" Ron said, who was trying to persuade a frantically wiggling Scabbers back into his pocket. "It heard me say that Scabbers was in my bag!"

"Oh, what rubbish," Hermione said impatiently. "Crookshanks could _smell_ him, Ron, how else d'you think—"

"That cat's got it in for Scabbers!" Ron said, ignoring the people around him, who were starting to giggle. "And Scabbers was here first, _and_ he's ill!"

Ron marched through the common room and out of sight up the stairs to the boys' dormitories. Hermione huffed grabbing her school bag and went up to the girls' dormitory muttering about Ron being an idiot. The common room went back to its normal chatter. Claire and Harry awkwardly sat next to each other not really sure what to do.

"So, um, I'm just gonna go upstairs." Claire said awkwardly, picking up her bag.

"Wait, Claire," Harry began. "Would you want to hang out on the day of Hogsmeade?"

"Sure, I mean we might as well keep each other company since most of the school will be gone." Claire said. "I'm gonna go check on Hermione and see if she's alright."

"Yea, I'd better go check on Ron, too," Harry said.

"Night, Harry," Claire said, sending him a small smile then went up to the girls' dormitory.

"Night, Claire," Harry made his way to the boys' dormitory feeling oddly happy.

The next day, Ron was still in a bad mood with Hermione. He barely talked to her all through Herbology, even though he, Claire, Harry, and Hermione were working together on the same puffapod. When Hermione asked how Scabbers was, Ron had said that he was at the bottom of his bed shaking.

Their next class was Transfiguration. While they were waiting outside the Transfiguration class with the rest of the students, they heard a disturbance at the front of the line.

Lavender Brown seemed to be crying. Parvati had her arm around her and was explaining something to Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, who were looking very serious.

"Are you alright, Lavender?" Claire asked anxiously as she, Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to join the group.

"She got a letter from home this morning," Parvati whispered. "It's her rabbit, Binky. He's been killed by a fox."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Claire said.

"I should have known!" Lavender said tragically. "You know what day it is?"

"Er—Friday?"

"The sixteenth of October! 'That thing you're dreading, it will happen on the sixteenth of October!' Remember? She was right, she was right!"

The whole class gathered around Lavender now. Claire wasn't really sure what to say. She thought that it was just a coincidence that her rabbit had died the same day Trelawney had predicted it would happen. However, Claire didn't want to upset Lavender any more by saying that.

"You—you were dreading Binky being killed by a fox?" Hermione said.

Claire nudged Hermione. "Hermione, _don't._"

"Well, not necessarily a _fox,_" Lavender said, looking up at Hermione with steaming eyes, "but I was _obviously_ dreading him dying, wasn't I?"

"Oh," Hermione said. "Was Binky an _old_ rabbit?"

"N—no!" Lavender sobbed. "H—he was only a baby!"

Parvati tightened her arm around Lavender's shoulders.

"But then, why would you dread him dying?" Hermione said.

Parvati glared at her.

_Really, Hermione?_ Claire thought annoyed.

"Well, look at it logically," Hermione said, turning to the rest of the group. "I mean, Binky didn't even die today, did he? Lavender just got the news today—" Lavender wailed loudly. "—and she _can't_ have been dreading it, because it's come as a real shock—"

"Don't mind Hermione, Lavender," Ron said loudly, "she doesn't think other people's pets matter very much."

_"Ron,"_ Claire said in a warning tone.

Professor McGonagall opened the classroom door at that moment, which was perhaps lucky; Hermione and Ron were looking daggers at each other, and when they got into class, Hermione sat next to Claire and Ron sat next to Harry and didn't talk to each other for the whole class.

As the weeks passed, Claire and Harry had to endure everyone talking about Hogsmeade and what they were going to do first once they got there.

"There's always the feast," Ron said, in an effort to cheer Harry and Claire up. "You know, the Halloween feast, in the evening."

"Yeah," Harry said gloomily, "great."

"Of course, you would use food as an example to cheer us up," Claire muttered.

Ron glared at her while Hermione and Harry laughed.

On Halloween morning, Claire woke up and Hermione offered to stay with her.

"There'll be other Hogsmeade visits. I don't mind staying here." Hermione offered.

"It's fine, Hermione, really. Go and have fun. Besides Harry's staying too, so we'll keep each other company." Claire said

Hermione smiled knowingly.

"Ok, what's with that smile, Hermione? This is like the third or fourth time you've done that whenever I mention Harry." Claire questioned.

Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes, muttering, "You really are clueless."

"What am I clueless about?" Claire asked.

Hermione shook her head. "Nevermind. Let's go down to breakfast."

Claire didn't object and they soon joined Harry and Ron at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall.

"We'll bring you both lots of sweets back from Honeydukes," Hermione said.

"Yeah, loads," Ron said. Ron and Hermione had finally forgotten their squabble about Crookshanks.

"Don't worry about us," Claire said.

"Yea, we'll see you at the feast. Have a good time." Harry said.

Claire and Harry walked them to the entrance hall, where Professor McGonagall and Filch were standing inside the front doors, collecting permission forms. Claire and Harry waved goodbye as Ron and Hermione left for Hogsmeade.

"Hopefully, they won't fight," Claire said as she and Harry walked down one of the corridors.

"They seemed to have gotten along at breakfast." Harry said.

"Claire? Harry?" They both turned around and saw Professor Lupin.

"So," Professor Lupin began. "No Hogsmeade, eh?"

Claire and Harry followed Professor Lupin to his classroom. As they entered his classroom, they noticed a tank of water that housed a sickly green creature with sharp little horns.

"What's that?" Claire asked.

"A Grindylow. They're for our next lesson." Professor Lupin answered.

"A what?" Harry questioned.

"Water demon," Lupin said. "We shouldn't have much difficulty with him, not after the kappas. The trick is to break his grip. You notice the abnormally long fingers? Strong, but very brittle. Cup of tea?"

"All right," Harry said awkwardly while Claire nodded.

Lupin found a kettle and tapped it with his wand and a blast of steam issued suddenly from the sprout.

"Sit down," Lupin said, taking the lid off the dusty tin. "I've only got teabags, I'm afraid—but I daresay you've both had enough of tea leaves?"

Claire and Harry both stared at him.

"How did you know that?" Claire asked.

"Professor McGonagall told me," Lupin said, passing Claire a chipped mug of tea. "You're not worried, are you?" Lupin directed the last question to both of them.

Claire shook her head while Harry said, "No."

Claire noticed that Harry was hesitating to tell Lupin something. She suspected that it was about the dog he saw when he left the Dursleys or about his boggart. However, Lupin seemed to have suspected Harry wasn't telling him everything because he said, "Anything worrying you, Harry?"

"No," Harry lied. He drank a bit of tea. "Yes." Harry said suddenly, putting his tea down on Lupin's desk. "You know that day we fought the boggart?"

"Yes," Lupin said slowly.

"Why didn't you let me fight it?" Harry said abruptly.

"I would've thought that was obvious, Harry," Lupin said, sounding surprised. "I assumed that if the boggart faced you, it would've taken the shape of Lord Voldemort. Clearly, I was wrong. But I didn't think it a good idea for Lord Voldemort to materialize in the classroom. I imagined that people would panic."

"I didn't think of Voldemort," Harry said honestly. "I—I remembered those dementors."

"I see," Lupin said thoughtfully. "Well, well….I'm impressed. That suggests what you fear most of all is fear. Very wise, Harry."

"I was surprised you even feared anything, Harry." Claire said. "I mean you've taken on some pretty scary things the past few years."

Lupin looked at Claire. "Your boggart was an interesting one Claire. Those people were your parents, weren't they?"

"How'd you know?" Claire asked.

"I recognized the woman." Lupin said.

Claire was shocked. "You knew my mother?"

Lupin nodded. "You remind me of her. Your mother, Carina, was an extraordinary woman. She was truly a great friend."

"If you knew my mother, then that means you know that her brother—"

"Was Sirius Black?" Lupin's face hardened at the mention of his name. "Yes, I knew. I was once friends with him as well. Shows you that you never know who might stab you in the back."

"Did you know my father?" Claire asked.

Claire noticed that Lupin still seemed a bit angry but assumed he was still thinking about Black.

"John Smith. I did know him, yes. You're parents were very much in love." Lupin's face soften. "However, towards the end, after what happened to James and Lily and Sirius being put behind bars, your parents sort of lost contact they just said they were in some sort of danger and disappeared. I haven't spoken to them since before James and Lily's—" Lupin cut off looking melancholy.

Lupin looked at Harry.

"The first time I saw you, Harry, I recognized you immediately. Not by your scar. By your eyes. They're your mother Lily's. I knew her too. Lily and Carina were there for me at a time when no one else was. We used to talk for hours. They were both gifted witches and probably the nicest people you'd ever meet. However, Carina did have a bit of a temper. They seemed to see the beauty in all people, even—and perhaps most especially—when that person couldn't see it in themselves…" Lupin's eyes seemed to glaze in memory, then he blinked and smiled.

"Which perhaps explains why James fell for Lily and John fell for Carina. James had, shall we say, a certain talent for trouble. A gift, rumor has it, that has been passed on to you."

Harry smiled vaguely.

"What about my father?" Claire asked.

"To tell you the truth there isn't much to say about him," Lupin said, the hardening look on his face returning. "He was very unusual. He sort of turned up out of the blue one day and he fell for your mother like she did for him. I could tell you stories—and there are many about both of your parents—but know this they lived. Every moment of every day. You should know that. That's how they'd want to be remembered."

Claire and Harry both smiled at him happy to hear a little about their parents.

"And Claire," Lupin added. "Know you're parents loved you very much, especially Carina. They left you with the Weasleys for a good reason."

Before Claire could ask anything else, there was a knock on Professor Lupin's door and Snape came in carrying a goblet. Snape stopped at the sight of Harry and Claire, his black eyes narrowing specifically at Harry.

"Well," Snape sneered. "Off you two go."

Claire tugged on Harry's arm and they both exited the classroom. However, they saw Lupin take a sip from the goblet before they left. Claire and Harry both exchanged a look. What was in the goblet Snape made Lupin drink?

"There you go," Ron said. "We got as much as we could carry."

A shower of brilliantly colored sweets fell into Claire's and Harry's laps. It was dusk, and Ron and Hermione had just turned up in the common room, pink-faced from the cold wind and looking as though they'd had the time of their lives.

"Thanks," Claire thanked them, opening up her favorite, _Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans_. "What was Hogsmeade like?"

"It was brilliant." Ron said.

"Where did you go?" Harry asked, picking up a packet of tiny black Pepper Imps.

Ron and Hermione went on to tell them about Dervish and Banges, the wizarding equipment shop, Zonko's Joke Shop, the Three Broomsticks and its foaming mugs of hot butter beer, Honeydukes, and the post office.

"And what about you two?" Hermione asked. "Did you get any work done?"

"No," Harry said.

"We visited Lupin in his office. He made us a cup of tea." Claire said.

"And then Snape came in…."

Harry told them all about the goblet. Ron's mouth fell open.

_"Lupin drank it?"_ he gasped. "Is he mad?"

Hermione checked her watch.

"We'd better go down, you know, the feast'll be starting in five minutes…." They hurried through the portrait hole and into the crowd, still discussing Snape.

"But if he—you know"—Hermione dropped her voice, glancing nervously around—"if he was trying to—to poison Lupin—he wouldn't have done it in front of Harry and Claire."

"Technically, I don't think he saw us when he actually gave it to Lupin," Claire clarified.

"Well, still, though," Hermione said, "he wouldn't do that when you saw him walk in with the goblet."

"Yeah, maybe," Harry said as they reached the entrance hall and crossed into the Great Hall. The hall was decorated with hundreds of candle-filled pumpkins, a cloud of fluttering live bats, and many flaming orange streamers, which swam around lazily across the stormy ceiling.

The food was delicious; even Hermione and Ron, who were full to bursting with Honeydukes sweets, managed second helpings of everything. Harry and Claire kept glancing at the staff table to see if Professor Lupin looked any different. He looked cheerful as ever. However, they noticed that Snape seemed to be flickering his eyes more often than was natural towards Lupin.

The feast finished with an entertainment provided by the Hogwarts ghosts. Harry, Claire, Ron, and Hermione followed the rest of the Gryffindors along the usual path to Gryffindor Tower, but when they reached the corridor that ended with the portrait of the Fat Lady, they found it jammed with students.

"What's the hold-up?" Claire said curiously. "Why isn't anyone going in?"

Harry peered over the heads in front of him. The portrait seemed to be closed.

"Let me through, please," came Percy's voice, and he came bustling importantly through the crowd. "What's going on? You can't all have forgotten the password—excuse me, I'm Head Boy—"

And then a silence fell over the crowd, from the front first, so that a chill seemed to spread down the corridor. They heard Percy say, in a suddenly sharp voice, "Somebody get Professor Dumbledore. Quick."

People's heads turned; those at the back were standing on tiptoe.

"What's going on?" Ginny said, who had just arrived.

"We don't know yet," Claire said, feeling a bit tense.

A moment later, Professor Dumbledore was there, sweeping toward the portrait; the Gryffindors squeezed together to let him through, and Claire, Harry, Ron, and Hermione moved closer to see what the trouble was.

"Oh, my—" Hermione grabbed Harry's arm.

The Fat Lady had vanished from her portrait, which had been slashed so violently that strips of canvas littered the floor.

Dumbledore took one quick look at the ruined painting and turned, his eyes somber, to see Professor McGonagall, Lupin, and Snape hurrying towards him.

"We need to find her," Dumbledore said. "Professor McGonagall, please go to Mr. Filch at once and tell him to search every painting in the castle for the Fat Lady."

"You'll be lucky!" said a cackling voice.

It was Peeves the Poltergist, bobbing over the crowd and looking delighted, as he always did, at the sight of wreckage and worry.

"What do you mean, Peeves?" Dumbledore said calmly and Peeves's grin faded a little. He didn't dare taunt Dumbledore. Instead he adopted an oily voice that was no better than his cackle.

"Ashamed, Your Headship, sir. Doesn't want to be seen. She's a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape up on the fourth floor, sir, dodging between the trees. Crying something dreadful," he said happily. "Poor thing," he added unconvincingly.

"Did she say who did it?" Dumbledore said quietly.

"Oh, yes, Professorhead," Peeves said, with the air of one cradling a large bombshell in his arms. "He got very angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see." Peeves flipped over and grinned at Dumbledore from between his own legs. "Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black."

Claire's heart caught in her throat and she gripped Harry's arm tightly. Harry didn't notice this because he to was thinking the same as Claire. Sirius Black had been in the castle and now it was only a matter of time before he got to them.

* * *

><p><em>How about Lupin's talk with Claire and Harry? Why do you think Lupin seemed angry whenever Claire mentioned her dad? You'll have to wait and see I guess. <em>

_Reply to Reviews:_

_Rainpelt the Doctor: Hopefully, Claire will give Jason a chance. But you'll just have to wait..._

_NicoleR85: Here's the next chapter! _

_Natekleh: I agree with you. Maybe Jason has changed but a master can be manipulative..._

_Guest: I can't wait for Claire and Sirius to meet either._


	9. Saxton, Song, Snape, and a Snapped Broom

Chapter 9: Saxton, Song, Snape, and a Snapped Broom

Professor Dumbledore sent all the Gryffindors back to the Great Hall, where they were joined ten minutes later by the students from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin, who all looked extremely confused.

"The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle," Dumbledore told them as Professor McGonagall and Flitwick closed all doors into the hall. "I'm afraid that, for your own safety, you will have to spend the night here. I want the prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the hall and I am leaving the Head Boy and Girl in charge. Any disturbance should be reported to me immediately," he added to Percy, who was looking immensely proud and important. "Send word with one of the ghosts."

Professor Dumbledore paused, about to leave the hall, and said, "Oh, yes, you'll be needing…"

He waved his hand and the long tables were replaced with hundreds of squashy purple sleeping bags. Professor Dumbledore wished them all a good night's rest before closing the door behind him. The hall immediately began to buzz excitedly; the Gryffindors were telling the rest of the school what had just happened. Percy began bellowing at the students to get into their sleeping bags and to stop talking.

"C'mon," Ron said to Claire, Harry, and Hermione; they seized four sleeping bags and dragged them into a corner.

"Do you think Black's still in the castle?" Hermione whispered anxiously.

"I think Black's long gone. Well, I hope he is anyway. Don't you think it'd be stupid for him to hang around when he was seen by the Fat Lady?" Claire said.

"Black's not in his right mind and Dumbledore obviously thinks he might still be in the castle," Ron said.

"It's very lucky he picked tonight, you know," Hermione said as they climbed fully dressed into their sleeping bags and propped themselves on their elbows to talk. "The one night we weren't in the tower…."

"Who's to say that that wasn't part of his plan?" Claire stated. "He could've planned it that way seeing as practically the whole school was gone today. He would've snuck into the tower and waited for Harry and me to show and…."

Claire trailed off but Ron, Hermione, and Harry seemed to get what she was about to say. Hermione shuddered.

All around them, people were asking one another the same question: _"How did he get in?"_ Several feet away from them, a Ravenclaw had said that he had apparated, while a fifth year Hufflepuff suggested that he'd disguised himself. Dean Thomas had said that he'd flown in.

"Honestly, am I the only person who's ever bothered to read _Hogwarts, A History_?" Hermione said crossly to Claire, Harry, and Ron.

"Probably," Ron said. "Why?"

"Because the castle's protected by more than _walls,_ you know," Hermione said. "There are all sorts of enchantments on it, to stop people entering by stealth. You can't just Apparate in here. And I'd like to see the disguise that could fool those dementors. They're guarding every single entrance to the grounds. They'd have seen him fly in too. And Filch knows all the secret passages, they'll have them covered…."

"You know, this castle is hundreds of years old," Claire began, "It's possible that there are entrances that faculty and we don't even know about. Take the Chamber of Secrets as example. It was believed to be a myth and yet we found it last year."

"I suppose so," Hermione said. "But Black still would've been spotted by someone."

"Well, remember first year when Professor McGonagall turned into a cat?" Claire said. "Maybe Black's an Animagus too."

"The lights are going out now!" Percy shouted. "I want everyone in their sleeping bags and no more talking!"

The candles all went out at once. The only lights now came from the silvery ghosts, who were drifting about talking seriously to the prefects, and the enchanted ceiling, which, like the sky outside, was scattered with stars. What with that, and the whispering that filled the hall, Harry felt as though he were sleeping outdoors in a light wind.

Every hour, a teacher would reappear in the hall to check that everything was quiet. Around three in the morning, when many students had finally fallen asleep, Professor Dumbledore came in. Harry watched him looking around for Percy, who had been prowling between the sleeping bags, telling people off for talking. Percy was only a short way away from Harry, Claire, Ron, and Hermione, who quickly pretended to be asleep as Dumbledore's footsteps drew nearer.

"Any sign of him, Professor?" Percy asked in a whisper.

"No. All well here?"

"Everything under control, sir."

"Good. There's no point moving them all now. I've found a temporary guardian for the Gryffindor portrait hole. You'll be able to move them back in tomorrow. We found the Fat Lady hiding in a map of Argyllshire on the second floor. Apparently she refused to let Black in without the password, so he attacked. She's still very distressed, but once she's calmed down, I'll have Mr Filch restore her."

Harry heard the door of the hall creak open again, and more footsteps.

"Headmaster?" It was Snape. Harry kept quite still, listening hard. "The whole of the third floor has been searched. He's not there. And Filch has done the dungeons; nothing there either."

"What about the Astronomy tower? Professor Trelawney's room? The Owlery?"

"All searched…."

"Very well, Severus. I didn't really expect Black to linger."

"Have you any theory as to how he got in, Professor?" Snape asked.

Harry raised his head very slightly off his arms to free his other ear.

"Many, Severus, each of them as unlikely as the next."

Harry opened his eyes slightly and saw that Snape's profile looked angry.

"You remember the conversation we had, Headmaster, just before—ah—the start of term?" Snape said, who was barely opening his lips.

"I do, Severus," Dumbledore said, with a sort of warning tone.

"It seems—almost impossible—that Black could have entered the school without inside help. I did express my concerns when you appointed—"

"I do not believe a single person inside this castle would have helped Black enter it," Dumbledore said, and his tone made it so clear that the subject was closed that Snape didn't reply. "I must go down to the dementors," Dumbledore said. "I said I would inform them when our search was complete."

"Didn't they want to help, sir?" Percy said.

"Oh yes," Dumbledore said coldly. "But I'm afraid no dementor will cross the threshold of this castle while I am headmaster."

Percy looked slightly abashed. Dumbledore left the hall, walking quickly and quietly. Snape stood for a moment, watching the headmaster with an expression of deep resentment on his face; then he too left.

Harry glanced sideways at Claire, Ron, and Hermione. They all had their eyes open too, reflecting the starry ceiling.

"What was that all about?" Ron mouthed.

The next morning, everyone went up to their house common rooms. The Gryffindors followed Percy to Gryffindor Tower.

"I wonder who'll be replacing the Fat Lady," Dean Thomas said as they neared the Gryffindor tower.

"Who cares?" Seamus said. "Anyone will be better than the Fat Lady and her voice shattering our eardrums instead of her glass."

They soon arrived at Gryffindor tower and Harry, Claire, Ron, and Hermione caught a glimpse at a familiar portrait.

"Oh _God_," Claire groaned.

"Halt! Tell me the password or draw your swords you knaves! " It was the portrait of Sir Cadogan and his fat gray pony.

"The password is _Jalopey._" Percy said to Sir Cadogan.

"Incorrect!" Sir Cadogan shouted.

"That's impossible!" Percy exclaimed. "I just received the password today."

"I changed it." Sir Cadogan replied.

"We're gonna be here _all_ day." Ron muttered.

"At least then we won't have to go to our classes." Claire said.

"Fair Maiden?! Tis it really you!?" Sir Cadogan had spotted Claire in the crowd. The other students turned to where he was looking at. Claire hid behind Harry. Ron snickered as Claire glared at him.

"What are you doing?" Harry whispered to Claire.

"Using you as my hiding spot. Got a problem with that?" Claire said.

"Claire, you're being ridiculous!" Hermione said, pulling Claire out from behind Harry.

"Do I look like a boggart to you?" Claire glared at Hermione.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Tis is!" Sir Cadogan exclaimed happily when he saw Claire. The other Gryffindors seemed to be laughing. "What can I assist thou with?"

"Can you please just let us in the tower?" Claire asked, feeling like hiding under a rock would the best option at the moment.

"I'm afraid I must hear the password first, milady," Sir Cadogan said. "Seeing as no one knows what it is I shall give ye a hint. This word is used for 6 shillings and 8 pence and I daresay you resemble this."

"_Angel_." Hermione said.

"Correct." The portrait opened and everyone scrambled in.

"How'd you know the password Hermione?" Ron asked.

"Simple, really," Hermione said as they made their way through the portrait. "Angel is a medieval term for 6 shillings and 8 pence. Also, Sir Cadogan kept calling Claire a fair maiden which could also mean angel, as in someone who's pretty."

"Ok," Claire said before they discussed the incident anymore. "We'd better get ready before all the breakfast is gone. C'mon Hermione," Claire grabbed Hermione by the arm and they both headed upstairs to change.

The next few days, Sirius Black seemed to be the only thing that was talked about. The theories on how he entered the castle became wilder and wilder. There was one particular theory that Black had turned into a flowering shrub and entered the castle that way.

Sir Cadogan seemed to be getting on not just Claire's nerves, but the whole Gryffindor house's. Claire particularly had a hard time getting into the tower because Sir Cadogan would try to make small talk with her or flirt with her which made Claire very uncomfortable. Also, he would change the passwords two to three times a day to ridiculously complicated passwords and challenged people to duels.

"He's a complete lunatic," Seamus said angrily to Percy.

"At least you aren't being hit on by him," Claire said. "I have to wait half an hour before he lets me in even if I know the password because he wants to talk with me. Can't we get anyone else for the job?"

"None of the other pictures wanted the job," Percy said. "Frightened of what happened to the Fat Lady. Sir Cadogan was the only one brave enough to volunteer."

Needless to say, Claire wasn't thrilled nothing could be done about the portrait and just hoped that the Fat Lady would return soon. However, it seemed Sir Cadogan wasn't the only worry Claire had. Claire, along with Harry, were now being closely watched. Teachers found excuses to walk with them in the halls, and Percy (acting, they both suspected, on his mother's orders) was tailing them everywhere like an extremely pompous guard dog. Professor McGonagall summoned them both into her office, with such a somber expression on her face they thought someone must have died.

"There's no point in hiding it from the both of you any longer, Potter, Smith," she said in a very serious voice. "I know this will come as a shock to you, but Sirius Black—"

"We know he's after us," Harry said wearily. "Ron's parents told us."

Professor McGonagall seemed taken aback at first. She then turned to Claire and said, "Then I assume they told you that Black's your—"

"Uncle? Yes, they did." Claire replied.

"I see. Well, in that case, you'll understand why I want you both to remain inside the castle at all times and to never wander off alone. And Potter, I don't think it will be a good idea to practice Quidditch in the evenings. Out on the field with only your team members, it's very exposed, Potter—"

"We've got our first match on Saturday!" Harry said, outraged. "I've got to train, Professor!"

After a few moments, Professor McGonagall said, "Well….goodness knows, I'd like to see us win the Cup at last, but all the same, Potter….I'd be happier if a teacher were present. I'll ask Madam Hooch to oversee your training sessions. You both may leave now."

Harry and Claire walked to the Great Hall for dinner.

"I'll be glad whenever Black's caught." Claire muttered. "I feel like a two-year-old being babysat and I don't like it."

"Neither do I." Harry agreed.

"At least you'll still get to practice for the Quidditch match," Claire said.

"Yea," Harry said.

The day before the match came and while Harry was at his Quidditch practice, Claire decided, despite Professor McGonagall's warning, to sit by the Black Lake by herself. She wasn't completely alone. There were other students near by doing homework and she was prepared with her wand next to her and a mental list of jinxes in her head in case something happened. Claire rummaged through her school bag trying to find her Defense Against the Dark Arts book. However, a familiar blue book caught her eye in her bag. She pulled it out. It was the blue journal she got in first year. It had been a long time since she had even touched the book. Claire took off her locket and placed it in the locking mechanism on the journal. The journal clicked opened and Claire put her necklace back on before turning the page. On the first page, there was a note written by River Song. However, it seemed a bit different than Claire remembered.

_Dear Claire,_

_It's about time you opened the journal! It's been two years! Of course, you and your father tend to have a rubbish concept of time._

_Don't worry if this note seems a bit different from when you first read it. I'm not a memory trapped in a diary trying to drain your life. Let me just say that it's very important from this moment forward to open this journal as much as possible. Things are about to take a turn for the worst and this journal will be the only thing that can help you. I know right now your uncle has escaped from prison but perhaps you should do some research on him. Maybe he isn't all bad. As far as your friend Ron's rat, he has been a very sneaky rodent. Black and the rat have something in common: they lost something._

_I think I've given you enough to work on. Remember to expect the unexpected._

_Spoilers,_

_River Song_

_P.S. Don't trust the drums and that blue box you keep seeing is the key._

Claire wondered how this person knew about Sirius Black and about last year's incident. It seemed this person knew a lot about her; more than they would reveal. Claire flipped to the next page. It was the picture of the Sonic Screwdriver. She flipped two more pages and Claire was shocked. It was a picture of a blue police box. The same box that she saw in the Mirror of Erised back in first year, in her dreams, and on the wall of King Tutankhamen's tomb. The top of the page was labeled_ TARDIS_. _What an odd name?_ Claire thought. She began to read the paragraph.

_T.A.R.D.I.S (aka TT Capasule) stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space. It is a space-time vessel that originated from the planet Gallifrey, home to an alien race called the Timelords. Only a single TARDIS has survived from the Last Great Time War. This TARDIS was 'borrowed' by one of the last remaining Timelords, the Doctor._

"Interesting book you got there." Claire looked up from her book and saw Jason Saxton.

Claire shut her book and put it into her bag. "It's rather boring."

"Really?" Jason said. "Because you certainly looked captivated by it.

Claire slung her bag over her shoulder. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to know if you considered my offer of being my friend?" Jason asked.

"Yes," Claire replied.

"And?" Jason said anxiously.

"I still don't get why you want to be my friend so badly." Claire said.

Jason sighed. "To be completely honest, I don't know either."

"How do I know this isn't one of Malfoy's tricks? That you're just trying to get close to me and my friends to find out our secrets and tell Malfoy about them?" Claire questioned.

"Why would I do that? I'm not even Malfoy's friend." Jason said.

"Then why do you hang around them all the time?" Claire asked.

Jason shrugged his shoulders. "I don't hang around them all the time."

There was a few awkward moments that passed before Claire spoke up.

"Yes."

Jason looked at her. "What?"

"Yes, we can be friends." Claire said. "But I'm warning you right now, you try anything funny and you'll be sorry. I've learned a lot of jinxes and I won't feel bad practicing them on you."

Jason smiled. "Spoken like a true Gryffindor."

Claire smiled back slightly. "Well, I'd better go. I have to get to class."

"Sure. I'll see you around, _Claire_." Jason said.

"See you around, _Jason._" Claire wasn't really sure how she felt about being his friend but she was prepared if he tried anything. As she walked backed to the castle, she saw movement in one of the bushes. She could see that there was a large, black dog staring at her. The same dog she had spotted at Diagon Alley. Before she could get closer the bell rung.

"Shit." Claire muttered.

Claire ran to Defense Against the Dark the Arts. As she neared the corner to Defense class, she ran into someone causing her to fall onto the floor.

"Ow." Claire muttered.

"Oh, it's you Claire. Are you alright?" Claire looked up and saw it was Harry. Harry offered her a hand and she took it. Once they were both up, they began walking to Defense together.

"Late too, huh?" Claire said.

"Yea, lost track of time with Quidditch practice. What did you do?" Harry asked.

"Read a book," Claire said.

They soon entered Defense class.

"Sorry, we're late, Professor Lupin, we—"

But it wasn't Professor Lupin who looked up at him from the teacher's desk; it was Snape.

"This lesson began ten minutes ago, Potter, Smith, so I think we'll make it ten points from Gryffindor. Sit down."

Claire and Harry didn't move.

"Where's Professor Lupin?" Claire asked.

"He says he is feeling too ill to teach today," Snape said with a twisted smile. "I believe I told you two to sit down?"

"What's wrong with him?" Harry asked.

Snape's black eyes glittered.

"Nothing life-threatening," he said, looking as though he wished it were. "Five more points from Gryffindor, and if I have to ask you two to sit down again, it will be fifty."

Claire and Harry walked to their seats and sat down. Snape looked around the class.

"As I was saying before Potter and Smith interrupted, Professor Lupin has not left any record of the topics you have covered so far—"

"Please, sir, we've done boggarts, Red Caps, kappas, and grindylows," Hermione said quickly, "and we're just about to start—"

"Be quiet," Snape said coldly. "I did not ask for information. I was merely commenting on Professor Lupin's lack of organization."

"He's the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had," Dean said boldly, and there was a murmur of agreement. Snape looked more menacing than ever.

"You are easily satisfied. Lupin is hardly overtaxing you— I would expect first years to be able to deal with Red Caps and grindylows. Today we shall discuss werewolves," Snape said.

"But, sir," Hermione said, seemingly unable to restrain herself, "we're not supposed to do werewolves yet, we're due to start hinkypunks—"

"Miss Granger," Snape said in a voice of deadly calm, "I was under the impression that I am teaching this lesson, not you. And I am telling you all to turn to page 394." He glanced around again. "_All_ of you! _Now_!"

Reluctantly and bitterly, the class opened their books.

"Which of you can tell me how we distinguish between the werewolf and the true wolf?" Snape said.

Everyone sat in motionless silence; except Hermione, whose hand, as it so often did, had shot straight into the air.

"Anyone?" Snape said, ignoring Hermione. His twisted smile was back. "Are you telling me that Professor Lupin hasn't even taught you the basic distinction between—"

"We told you," Parvati said suddenly, "we haven't got as far as werewolves yet, we're still on—"

_"Silence!"_ Snape snarled. "Well, well, well, I need thought I'd meet a third-year class who wouldn't even recognized a werewolf when they saw one. I shall make a point of informing Professor Dumbledore how very behind you all are…."

"Please, sir," Hermione said, whose hand was still in the air, "the werewolf differs from the true wolf in several small ways. The snout of the werewolf—"

"That is the second time you have spoken out of turn, Miss Granger," Snape said coolly. "Five more points from Gryffindor for being an insufferable know-it-all."

Hermione went very red, put her hand down, and stared at the floor with her eyes full of tears. Claire was about to say a few choice words to Snape when Ron said loudly, "You asked us a question and she knows the answer! Why ask if you don't want to be told?"

Snape advanced on Ron slowly, and the room held its breath.

"Detention, Weasley," Snape said, silkily, his face very close to Ron's. "And if I ever hear you criticize the way I teach a class again, you will be very sorry indeed."

The rest of the lesson was in silence as the students took notes on the chapter. The bell rang soon and Snape held them back to tell them they had to write an essay on the ways to recognize and kill werewolves. Claire, Harry, and Hermione waited for Ron while he was told to stay after to arrange his detention.

"Snape's never been like this with any of our other Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, even if he did want the job," Harry said to Claire and Hermione. "Why's he got it in for Lupin? D'you think this is all because of the boggart?"

"I don't think so," Claire said. "Snape didn't like Lupin before that. Maybe something happened when they were younger that made Snape not like him."

"Well, let's just hope that Professor Lupin gets better soon…" Hermione said pensively.

Ron caught up with them five minutes later, in a towering rage.

"D'you know what that—" (he called Snape something that made Hermione say _"Ron!"_) "—is making me do? I've got to scrub out the bedpans in the hospital wing. _Without magic!_" He was breathing deeply, his fists clenched. "Why couldn't Black have hidden in Snape's office, eh? He could have finished him off for us!"

The next day was the Quidditch match. It was raining heavily as Ron, Claire, and Hermione made their way down to the Quidditch field. They stood in the Gryffindor section with their cloaks above their hands to keep from the pouring rain.

"I'd hate to be playing in this weather," Claire muttered.

The game soon started and it seemed that Harry was having trouble seeing in the rain with his glasses.

"It looks like Harry's having a problem with seeing through his glasses." Hermione said.

"Hermione," Claire began. "Isn't their a spell that repels water?"

"Oh, yes it's _Impervius_!" Hermione said.

At that moment Wood called a time-out and Madam Hooch blew her whistle.

"I'll be right back." Claire said.

Claire ran down to the edge of field where the Gryffindor Quidditch team was and spotted Harry.

"Harry!" Claire called.

He turned to her and said, "What are you doing here, Claire?"

"I have an idea, Harry! Give me your glasses, quick!"

He handed them to her, and as the team watched in amazement, Claire tapped them with her wand and said, _"Impervius!"_

"There!" she said, handing them back to Harry. "Hermione and I were trying to figure out a spell that repelled water and she remembered this one. Now you'll be able to see in the rain!"

Wood looked as though he could have kissed her.

"Brilliant!" he called hoarsely after her as she disappeared into the crowd. "Okay, team, let's go for it!"

Claire soon made it back to the bleachers just as the game started up again. Harry could actually see now.

"Well, it looks like the spell worked," Ron said.

Suddenly, an eerie silence fell upon the crowd and the temperature in the air dropped.

"DEMENTORS!" Someone yelled from the crowd.

"What's going on?" Ron questioned.

Hundreds of dementors were swarming the field and they all seemed to be heading towards Harry. Then Harry fell off his broom. Thankfully, Dumbledore used a spell to slow down Harry's drop and it allowed Harry to land safely on the ground.

"HARRY!" Claire and Hermione screamed.

Claire, Ron, and Hermione rushed down to the field as the teachers used their Patronus' to get rid of the dementors. The dementors were soon gone and Professor Dumbledore, looking extremely furious, conjured up a stretcher and put Harry on it. Dumbledore spotted them.

"Ah, Ms. Smith, Ms, Granger, Mr. Weasley, why don't you three escort Mr. Potter to the infirmary well I deal with the dementors." They took Harry to the infirmary and Madam Pomfrey muttered about how there shouldn't be dementors on the grounds. She tended to him behind one of the curtains as Claire, Ron, and Hermione waited. When Madam Pomfrey was done, the whole Gryffindor Quidditch team arrived. Fred was carrying a bag that looked like it had splintered wood and twigs in it.

"Is that Harry's broom?" Hermione gasped.

"Well, what's left of it," Fred said.

"He's not gonna be happy when we tell him about it," Ron said.

They all walked over to Harry.

"Looks a bit peaky, doesn't he?" Ron said.

Claire smacked his arm. "Peaky? What d'you expect him to look like, Ron? He fell _fifty_ feet!"

"Yeah, c'mon, Ron." George said. "We'll walk you off the Astronomy Tower and see how you come out looking."

"Probably a right sight better than he normally does." Harry said.

They all looked at him as he opened his eyes.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed. "How are you feeling?"

"Brilliant." Harry muttered sarcastically.

"Gave us a right good scare, mate." Fred said.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"You fell off your broom." Ron answered, which led to Claire smacking his arm again.

"Really? I meant the match. Who won?" Harry noticed that the room suddenly went silent and they sent uncomfortable glances toward each other.

"It wasn't your fault," Claire began. "The dementors weren't suppose to come on the grounds. You should've seen Dumbledore he was furious. After he saved you, he sent them straight off."

Harry nodded grimly. "What about my Nimbus?"

They all stared at Claire as though they were expecting her to tell him the bad news. She glared at them.

"Really? I already had to tell him he didn't win the game. Now I have to tell him about his broom too? Fine. I swear and you call yourselves Gryffindors." Claire muttered. "Well, Harry, about your Nimbus—when it blew away?—it sort of landed in the Whomping Willow and well….."

Claire took the bag from Fred and dumped the remains of the broomstick on Harry's bed.

* * *

><p><em>A few key points that happened in this chapter: #1 River Song's Journal returns! I know it's been a LONG time since you've seen that but I had my reasons. Claire was preoccupied with the possessive diary last year remember. I felt now was a good time for her to rediscover it and actually tell about the blue box she keeps seeing everywhere. River song also gave her some hints about her Uncle and Ron's rat. Hmmm, I wonder what Claire will do with this information? #2 Claire and Jason are friends now! I was going to wait a little longer but I thought it'd be the best time. I hope it didn't seem rushed with their friendship. I mean they're not best friends but friends. #3 Sir Cadogan as the Fat Lady's replacement! In all honesty I'd completely forgotten that he was the portrait that replaces the Fat Lady. I'm kind of glad I did make him have a crush on Claire now because I thought it'd be good comic relief. So, what are your thoughts about this chapter? Love It Or Hate It? (Ha, just like LOVE IT OR LIST IT on HGTV! Now I know I'm getting tired when I start getting off topic.) Thanks to the new followers: backbiter818, darkanomoly, bexy622, dream lighting, and GoingClassic.<em>

_Reply to Reviews:_

_NicoleR85: I don't know either. Well, actually I do know but I don't want to spoil it. Lupin definitely seemed mad whenever John Smith came up or Sirius came up._

_Rukia-chappy (Guest): You'll find out later on. I can't wait until Claire's reunited with her family either._

_Teckie De Cool: Thanks!_

_Aunknowntimelord (Guest): Claire's slowly going to uncover more about her parents._

_backbiter818: Thanks! Here's the update!_

_Rainpelt the Doctor: Jason does have a connection with the Master. You'll find out later on exactly what that connection is._

_dream lighting: (love your username) Soon. As for Claire and Harry getting together, it won't be for a while. The Doctor might come soon._


	10. The Marauder's Map

Chapter 10: The Marauder's Map

Harry had to stay in the hospital wing over the weekend upon Madam Pomfrey's orders. Claire, Ron, and Hermione visited him there and saw he still had the bag that contained pieces of his broken broom.

"Harry, I hate to break it to you but there's no way your broom is going to be salvaged," Claire said, looking at the bag.

"I know," Harry sighed.

"Still upset about the game, mate?" Ron asked.

"Yea," Harry said.

Claire seemed to think Harry wasn't telling them the whole truth, but she didn't push for an explanation thinking she'd ask him when Ron and Hermione weren't around.

"It will be alright, Harry," Hermione said. "You're team still has a chance."

"Hermione's right," Ron said. "Fred and George were saying that if Hufflepuff loses to Ravenclaw or Slytherin then Gryffindor will be back in the game."

Madam Pomfrey came over at this moment to shoo them away so she could check on Harry. Ron and Hermione were heading out while Claire said to Harry, "I'll be back after lunch." She then followed Ron and Hermione to the Great Hall.

"Harry seems to beating himself up about this whole Quidditch Match," Hermione said, as they sat down at the table.

"He does," Ron agreed.

They then heard Malfoy talking loudly with the other Slytherins about Harry's accident.

"Did you see the way he fell off his broom?" Malfoy laughed. "I bet he'll be blaming the dementors for his lousy flying skills now!"

The other Slytherins laughed along with him while Claire imagined pushing Malfoy off the Astronomy tower. Claire had enough of him ridiculing her best friend. She stood up from her seat and looked towards the Slytherins.

"You're one to talk, Malfoy," Claire snapped. "How many times have you caught the Snitch again?"

The whole Gryffindor table burst out laughing. Malfoy looked infuriated and shouted to her, "Hey, Smith! How does it feel to have parents?"

Claire was about to send a jinx towards Malfoy when—

"Knock it off, Malfoy," It was Jason Saxton. "Just leave Smith alone."

"Sticking up for a Gryffindor, Saxton?" Malfoy sneered. "You disgrace the name Slytherin."

"I think you do that plenty yourself, Malfoy," Jason said.

Malfoy pulled out his wand and pointed it at Jason. He was about to use a spell when—

"Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Saxton" Snape had just entered the Great Hall. "Come see me in my office right now."

They glared at each other and then reluctantly followed Snape to his office. The Hall resumed to its normal chatter. Claire couldn't believe what just happened and apparently all the other houses were thinking the same thing.

"Did a _Slytherin_ just _stick up_ for a _Gryffindor_?" Seamus said.

"Wasn't that guy the transfer student from last year? Didn't he go to Durmstrang Institute?" Dean said.

Claire didn't feel like eating much. She finished her Pumpkin juice and stood up from the table.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked.

"I'm going to thank Saxton, I mean Jason for what he did." Claire said.

"By the way why did he do that? Didn't you two hate each other?" Hermione questioned.

"We don't hate each other….anymore. It's complicated. We're sort of friends now. Look, I'll meet up with you later." Claire said.

"Alright, we'll be in the library," Hermione replied.

Ron groaned. "The library? It's so boring—"

Claire didn't stick around to hear their conversation. She walked out of the Great Hall and headed towards the dungeons. Just as she was about to follow the steps that led to the dungeons, Jason came up them.

"Oh, hello, Claire," Jason gave her a small smile.

"Hey, Jason." Claire said.

"What did you need?" Jason asked.

"I just wanted to say thanks for what you did back there. I hope you didn't get into too much trouble. You really didn't have to do that. Now you've turned your whole house against you." Claire said.

"We're friends. We stick up for one another. And as far as my house turning against me, I could care less." Jason said. "Don't worry about the punishment. Malfoy got detention and I was let off."

"Really?" Claire raised her eyebrow. "I thought Malfoy was Snape's star student?"

"Apparently, he's not." Jason said.

"Well, thanks again, Jason," Claire thanked him. "I guess I'll see you later."

When Jason was gone, Claire remembered about Harry. She headed to the hospital wing. Harry still seemed a little depressed.

"Hey, Harry," Claire greeted him with a smile.

Harry smiled back to Claire. "Hey, Claire,"

"Everything all right?" She asked.

"Yea," Harry said unconvincingly.

Claire raised her eyebrow. "Ok, Harry, you and I both know that's not true. I know that you're upset about not winning and your broomstick but I have a feeling that's not the only thing that's troubling you."

Harry sighed. "There's two things that are troubling me actually. You remember what Professor Trelawney said?"

Claire groaned. "Harry, you can't be serious. You're worried about the Grim?"

Harry nodded. "The thing is I think I saw the Grim—again."

Claire rolled her eyes. "Don't you think you're being paranoid?"

"This is the second time I've seen it Claire! Every time I saw it, something bad happened. The first time the Knight Bus nearly ran me over and when I saw the Grim at the game I fell fifty feet off my broom!" Harry exclaimed.

Claire could see where he was coming from but she thought that he was just being paranoid.

"Well, you know what they say, once is chance, twice is coincidence, and third is a pattern." Claire said.

"What if it happens a third time?" Harry said.

"Then I guess you can be worried then." Claire replied.

"Thanks for that," Harry said sarcastically.

They were silent for a few moments.

"What was the other thing that was bothering you?" Claire asked.

"The dementors," Harry replied.

"I don't blame you." Claire said. "They aren't the greatest things."

"Yea, well it seems I'm the only one who passes out around them. And—" Harry cut off looking a bit more depressed.

"And what?" Claire asked.

"And I can hear my mother screaming. I think it was the last moments of her life." Harry said.

"Oh, Harry, I'm sorry I brought it up," Claire apologized. She put her hand on his hand.

"It's alright," Harry said. "I'm actually kind of glad I told someone about it. It's just that I felt so weak around the dementors."

"Harry, you are anything but weak. Look at all the things you've done. You took on Voldemort three times and lived. You're one of the strongest and most powerful wizards I know, Harry." Claire said. "And trust me I wouldn't say that to you if it wasn't true."

"Thanks, Claire," Harry smiled.

"No problem." Claire said. "I'd better get going. I told Hermione I'd meet her and Ron at the library. We'll come by later, ok? And I won't tell them our conversation if you don't want me to."

Claire could see that Harry was thankful for her not telling the others about their conversation. Claire left and headed to the library. When she arrived, she noticed a very bored Ron and a book-reading Hermione (not that that wasn't normal).

"Hey," Claire said to the two.

They both said hello. Ron flipped the pages of his Defense Against the Dark Arts book lazily, obviously not reading the words. Claire was about to pull out her books from her bag when she caught sight of the blue journal from River Song. She then remembered how River Song had warned her about the danger ahead. River Song had said that Sirius wasn't too bad and that Claire should do some research on him.

"Hermione?" Hermione looked up from her essay she was writing on werewolves that Snape had assigned them. "Do you think there's a section in this library that keeps records of previous students here at Hogwarts? Maybe school newspapers or something along those lines?"

"Yes," Hermione said. "I've visited that section before. It's the very last row of books on the last aisle. Why?"

"Just doing some research," Claire said.

"For what?" Ron asked.

"I just want to check something. I'll be back later." Claire went to the very last aisle of books and walked to the last row of books. There was a huge section of Hogwarts yearbooks, newspapers, another readings. Claire began searching. She estimated that Black had gone to school in the 1970s. Skimming through the yearbooks, she spotted a book that didn't look like it belonged in that section. Claire pulled it out and on the front cover there was a picture of a Time-turner. The title read _The Invention of the Time-turner_. She flipped to the first page of the book.

_The Time-turner was invented in 1977 by a man named John Smith._

Claire nearly dropped the book. John Smith? That was the name of her father! _My father invented the Time-turner!_ Claire thought to herself. She was definitely going to show Hermione this later. She had to find information on Black. Pulling off some of the yearbooks from the 1970s, she finally found a picture of Sirius Black.

It was from his first year and he was in a picture with four other kids. Three of them were boys while one was a girl who looked like a female version of Sirius. Claire stared at the picture recognizing her mom. She could point out some similarities between herself and her mom. They both had they same curly hair, noses, and facial structure. In the photo the five of them were laughing. Sirius and Carina had their arms on each others shoulders laughing with the other three boys. Why'd he have to turn bad? Claire thought. She could tell by the photo that Sirius and Carina were close as siblings could be. Claire also noticed that one of the other boys seemed to be looking at her mom in a way that Claire had only seen Mr. and Mrs. Weasley look at each other. The boy was on Carina's other side and had a few scars on his face, light brown hair, and green eyes. The boy looked oddly familiar, but so did the other boy who was standing on the other side of Sirius. He had untidy black hair and hazel eyes. There was another boy he was pudgy and seemed to be a few inches away from the other four. He was still laughing, but he seemed out of place; like he wasn't supposed to be there. Claire closed the book and decided to look through the newspapers to get some information on Black. One headline caught her interest: _Black's Attack_

_Sirius Black was sent to Azkaban after killing thirteen juggles and even his own friend- Peter Pettigrew. The only thing found at the scene of the crime was one of Peter Pettigrew's fingers._

"Claire, there you are," Hermione said, coming down the aisle. "It's almost time for dinner. Are you ready to go?"

"Yea," Claire put up the books she was using except for the one on the Time-turner. "Hermione, when you asked me about if I was related to John Smith back in first year did you know that he created the Time-turner?"

Hermione nodded. "That's why I was asking you."

"Well, it turns out I am." Claire said.

"That's incredible!" Hermione replied. "Is that what you were looking for?"

"Yes and no," Claire began. "I was trying to find information on Black and then the book about Time-turners caught my eye and that's how I found out."

"Did you find anything?" Hermione asked.

"Would you two hurry up? I'm starving." Ron complained walking over to them.

"You're always starving," Claire commented as she put up the Time-turner book as Ron glared at her.

The three of them went to dinner. Claire told Hermione and Ron what she found in the library about Black.

"All I found was a photo. It was my mom, Black, and three other boys. They all seemed to be having a good time." Claire said. "Makes me wonder how someone who seemed innocent can turn evil. I guess looks can be deceiving."

On Monday Harry was released from the hospital wing and now the four friends were headed to their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Their previous class had been Potions. It was a complete disaster as Malfoy kept taunting Harry. Claire and Ron broke and they both threw a large, slippery crocodile heart at Malfoy, which hit him in the face. Of course, Snape deducted fifty points from Gryffindor because of this action.

"If Snape's teaching our Defense class again, I'm skipping," Ron said as they neared Lupin's classroom. "Check who's in there, Hermione."

Hermione peered around the classroom door.

"It's okay!"

They walked in to see Professor Lupin, who looked as though he had been certainly been ill. His old robes were hanging more loosely than before and dark shadows were beneath his eyes; nevertheless, he smiled at the class as they took their seats, and they burst at once into an explosion of complaints about Snape's behavior while Lupin had been ill. They told Lupin how Snape had assigned them an essay on werewolves that was suppose to be two rolls of parchment. In the end, Lupin said not to worry about the essay to which Hermione replied, "Oh no, I've already finished it!"

The rest of the class was enjoyable and when the bell rang, Lupin wanted a word with Harry. Claire, Ron, and Hermione waited outside for Harry. Lupin told Harry he'd heard of his accident at the last Quidditch match and about his broomstick.

"Did you hear about the dementors too?" Harry said with difficulty.

Lupin looked at him quickly.

"Yes, I did. I don't think any of us have seen Professor Dumbledore that angry. They have been growing restless for some time….furious at his refusal to let them inside the grounds…I suppose they were the reason you fell?"

"Yes," Harry said. He hesitated, and then the question he had to ask burst from him before he could stop himself. "Why? Why do they affect me like that? Am I just—?"

"It has nothing to do with weakness," Professor Lupin said sharply, as though he had read Harry's mind. "And if it did, from what I've heard of what you've done you wouldn't have been affected."

"That's what Claire said," Harry said.

"I see," Lupin smiled faintly. "Well, she's right. Are you two close?"

"Yea, I've known her for three years and she's one of my best friends." Harry said.

"It's important to have friends like that. You never know when you might need help." Lupin said. "Now, to answer your question, the dementors affect you worse than the others because you've experienced things in your past that the others haven't. Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They live in the darkest, filthiest places and drain peace, hope, happiness out of the air around them. Even Muggles feel their presence, though they can't see them. It's important not to get too near to one or otherwise everything that's good inside of you will be sucked out of you. Dementors can and will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself…soul-less and evil. All that will remain our the worst experiences of you life. And the worst that happened to you, Harry, is enough to make anyone fall off their broom. You have nothing to feel ashamed of."

"When they get near me—" Harry stared at Lupin's desk, his throat tight. "I can hear Voldemort murdering my mom."

A few moments in silence passed. Harry then came up with an idea.

"Professor," Harry began. "You made the dementors back off on the train. Do you think you could teach me those defenses? I'll need to be to fight them off if they come to another Quidditch game."

Lupin looked into Harry's determined face, hesitated, then said, "Well….all right. I'll try and help. But it'll have to wait until next term, I'm afraid. I have a lot to do before the holidays. I chose a very inconvenient time to fall ill."

Harry's mood took a definite upturn with the promise of anti-dementor lessons from Lupin, the thought that he might never have to hear his mother's death again, and the face that Ravenclaw flattened Hufflepuff in their Quidditch match at the end of November. Gryffindor was no longer out of the running but they could not afford to lose another match. Wood worked his team harder than ever in the freezing rain. Winter holidays were just around the corner and there was another Hogsmeade trip on the very last weekend of the term to everyone's delight except Claire and Harry's. Since Claire and Harry were going to be the only two left at the castle they decided to hang out together again.

On the Saturday morning of the Hogsmeade trip, Claire and Harry said good-bye to Ron and Hermione and then turned up the marble staircase, and headed back toward Gryffindor Tower. Snow had started to fall outside the windows, and the castle was very still and quiet.

"So, what do you want to do, Harry?" Claire asked.

"I'm not sure—"

"Psst—Claire! Harry!"

They turned, halfway along the third-floor corridor, to see Fred and George peering out at them from behind a statue of a humpbacked, one-eyed witch.

"What are you two doing?" Claire asked.

"How come you're not going to Hogsmeade?" Harry said curiously.

"We've come to give you both a bit of festive cheer before we go," Fred said, with a mysterious wink. "Come in here…."

He nodded toward an empty classroom to the left of the one-eyed statue.

"If this is a joke—" Claire began.

"It's not a joke. Now come in before someone sees." George said annoyed.

They followed the twins inside. George closed the door quietly and then turned, beaming at the two of them.

"So, we heard of your dilemmas and Fred and I have an early Christmas present for you two," he said.

Fred pulled something from inside his cloak with a flourish and laid it on one of the desks. It was a large, square, very worn piece of parchment with nothing written on it.

"So, how is it that this isn't a joke?" Claire questioned annoyed.

"Just hold on, let us explain," George said. "This is the key to Fred and my's success. It's a wrench, giving it to you, but we decided last night, your need's greater than ours."

"However," Fred began. "that doesn't mean you two can go sneaking around and snogging—"

Both Harry and Claire were completely embarrassed. They both blushed and Claire said annoyed, "We're not going to be snogging! We're just friends for the last time!"

"Anyway," George said, trying to ease the tension, "we know it by heart. We bequeath it to you. We don't really need it anymore."

"And what are we going to do with a bit of old parchment?" Harry said.

"A bit of old parchment!" Fred said, closing his eyes with a grimace as though Harry had mortally offended him. "Explain, George."

"Well…..when we were in our first year, Claire, Harry—young, carefree, and innocent—"

Harry snorted while Claire rolled her eyes.

"—well, more innocent than we are now—we got into a spot of bother with Filch."

"Oh, I remember that," Claire said. "Your mum nearly screamed her head off at you two. That was when you let off a Dungbomb in the corridor and Filch caught you."

Fred and George grimaced as they remembered their mother yelling at them.

"Exactly," Fred said. "So he ended up hauling us to his office and started threatening us with the usual—"

"—detention—"

"—disembowelment—"

"—and we couldn't help noticing—"

"Oh, I bet you couldn't," Claire muttered.

"—a drawer in one of his filing cabinets marked Confiscated and Highly Dangerous."

"Don't tell me—" Harry said, starting to grin.

"Well, what would you've done?" Fred said. "George caused a diversion and I whipped the drawer opened and grabbed—this."

"It's not as bad as it sounds, you know," George said. "We don't reckon Filch ever found out how to work it. He probably suspected what it was, though, or he wouldn't have confiscated it."

"And you know how to work it?" Harry asked.

Fred and George nodded and George took out his wand, touched the parchment lightly and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

And at once, thin ink lines began to spread like a spider's web from the point that George's wand had touched. They joined each other, they crisscrossed, they fanned into every corner of the parchment; then words began to blossom across the top, great, curly green words, that proclaimed:

_Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Howl, Padfoot, and Prongs_

_Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischeif-Makers_

_are proud to present_

_THE MARAUDER'S MAP_

The map seemed to show the entire school and everyone in it. It also showed a set of passages; many of which seemed to lead to—

"Right into Hogsmeade," Fred said, tracing one of them with his finger. "There are seven in all. You're best option is to use the one that leads right into the cellar of Honeydukes. We've used it loads of times. And as you might've noticed, the entrance is right outside this room, through that one-eyed old crone's hump."

"Moony, Wormtail, Howl, Padfoot, and Prongs," George sighed, patting the head of the map. "We owe them so much."

"Noble men, working tirelessly to help a new generation of lawbreakers," Fred said solemnly.

"Right," George said briskly. "Don't forget to wipe it after you've used it—"

""—or anyone can read it," Fred said warningly. "Just tap it again and say, 'Mischief managed!' And it'll go blank."

"Before you two go, Claire we need to speak to you." George said.

"Ok," Claire replied.

Fred, George, and Claire went over to the other side of the room far enough from Harry as to where he couldn't hear. Claire was the first to ask a question.

"So, when you heard about our dilemma does that mean you know that—"

"Yea," George answered. "Mum told us."

"You don't hate me do you?" Claire asked.

"What? Of course, not! You can't control who you're related to." Fred replied.

"However, if you start doing what your uncle then we may have some problems," George said. "And besides we wouldn't of given you and Harry the map if we hated you."

"Thank you," Claire thanked them.

"No problem, Claire-bear," Fred teased.

"You just had to ruin the moment, didn't you?" Claire glared at him.

Fred ignored her and headed toward the door with George following suit.

"So, young Claire and Harry," Fred said, in an uncanny impersonation of Percy, "mind you behave yourselves."

"See you in Honeydukes," George said, winking.

"And remember no snogging!" Fred said, before he ran off.

Claire groaned. "Sometimes they get on my nerves."

Harry and Claire traveled along the secret passageway. They were soon in the Honeydukes cellar. They climbed upstairs. Honeydukes was so crowded with Hogwarts students that no one looked twice at them.

"There's Ron and Hermione." Claire said to Harry.

Ron and Hermione were in the farthest corner of the shop with a sign hanging that said 'Unusual Tastes'. They were standing underneath it, examining a tray of blood-flavored lollipops. Claire and Harry sneaked up behind them.

"Ugh, no, Harry won't want on of those, they're for vampires, I expect," Hermione was saying.

"Fine. How about these for Claire? Maybe I could get back at her for making me afraid of spiders by making her afraid of cockroaches." Ron said, shoving a jar of Cockroach Clusters under Hermione's nose.

"You better not or I'll get Aragog to crawl into your bed while you're sleeping." Claire threatened.

Ron nearly dropped the jar.

"Claire! Harry!" Hermione squealed. "What are you two doing here? How—how did you—?"

Harry held up the Marauder's Map while Claire explained to them what it was.

"How come Fred and George never gave it to me!" Ron said, outraged. "I'm their brother!"

"Yea, but you're not as awesome as us. Right, Harry?" Claire teased.

"But they aren't going to keep it!" Hermione said, as though the idea was ludicrous. "They're going to hand it in to Professor McGonagall, aren't you?"

"No, we're not!" Claire and Harry said in unison.

"Are you mad?" Ron said, goggling at Hermione. "Hand in something that good?"

"If we hand in it, we'll have to say where we got it! Filch would know Fred and George had nicked it!"

"But what about Sirius Black?" Hermione hissed. "He could be using one of the passages on that map to get into the castle! The teachers have got to know!"

Claire didn't think about that. Did Black know about the passageway Claire and Harry came through? Ron,however, cleared his throat significantly, and pointed to a notice pasted on the inside of the sweetshop door. The notice said that dementors would be patrolling the streets of Hogsmeade after sundown to find Sirius Black.

"See?" Ron said quietly. "I'd like to see Black try and break into Honeydukes with dementors swarming all over the village. Anyway, Hermione, the Honeydukes owners would hear a break-in, wouldn't they? They live over the shop!"

"Yes, but—but" Hermione seemed to be struggling to find another problem. "Look, you both should still not be coming to Hogsmeade. Neither of you have a signed form! If anyone finds out, you'll be in so much trouble! And it's not nightfall yet—what if Sirius Black turns up today? Now?"

"He'd have a job spotting Claire and Harry in this," Ron said, nodding through the mullioned windows at the thick, swirling snow.

"Come on, Hermione, it's Christmas. Claire and Harry deserve a break."

Hermione bit her lip, looking extremely worried.

"Are you going to report us?" Harry asked her, grinning.

"Oh—of course not—but honestly, Harry, Claire—"

"Seen the Fizzing Whizbees, Harry, Claire?" Ron said, leading them over to their barrel.

When Ron and Hermione had paid for all their sweets, the four of them left Honeydukes for the blizzard outside. It was extremely cold outside as Ron and Hermione pointed towards the different shops such as Zonko's, the post office, and the Shrieking Shack. After a several minutes, Ron suggested they'd go to get a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks. They soon entered the Three Broomsticks. It was crowded, noisy, warm, and smoky. A curvy sort of woman with a pretty face was serving a bunch of rowdy warlocks up at the bar.

"That's Madam Rosmerta," Ron said. "I'll get the drinks, shall I?" he added, going slightly red.

"Seems like someone's got a crush," Claire teased Ron.

Claire, Harry, and Hermione made their way to the back of the room, where there was a small vacant table between the window and a handsome Christmas tree. Ron came back five minutes later with four hot butter beers.

"Merry Christmas!" he said happily, raising his tankard.

Claire took a sip of the butterbeer and thought it was delicious. Suddenly, the door of the Three Broomsticks opened again, bringing a cold wind as well as Professor McGonagall, Flitwick, Hagrid, and Fudge. In an instant, Ron and Hermione shoved Claire and Harry under the table.

"Ow!" Claire muttered as she rubbed her head. "Warn a person next time."

Claire and Harry listened to their conversation. Fudge began talking about Sirius Black breaking into Hogwarts on Halloween. Madam Rosmerta asked if he thought Black was still in the area to which Fudge replied yes. Madam Rosmerta then began to complain about the dementors ruining her business.

"All the same," Fudge demurred, "they are here to protect you all from something much worse….We all know what Black's capable of…."

"Do you know, I still have trouble believing it," Madam Rosmerta said thoughtfully. "Of all the people to go over to the Dark Side, Sirius Black was the last I'd have thought…I mean, I remember him when he was a boy at Hogwarts. If you'd told me then what he was going to become, I'd have said you'd had too much mead."

"You don't know the half of it, Rosmerta," Fudge said gruffly. "The worse he did isn't widely known."

"The worst?" Madam Rosmerta said, her voice alive with curiosity. "Worse than murdering all those poor people?"

"I certainly do," Fudge said.

"I can't believe that. What could possibly be worse?"

"You say you remember him at Hogwarts, Rosmerta," Professor McGonagall murmured. "Do you remember who his best friend was?"

Rosmerta nodded with a small laugh. "You never saw one without the other. The number of times they'd come here—ooh, they used to make me laugh. Quite the double act, Sirius Black and James Potter!"

Claire and Harry looked at each other with a shocked expression. Black and Harry's father were friends?

"Precisely," Professor McGonagall said. "But let's not forget about Black's twin Carina. The three of them were the ringleaders of their little gang. They were all bright—especially Carina— but I don't think we've ever had such a group of troublemakers."

"I dunno," Hagrid chuckled. "Fred and George Weasley could give 'em a run fer their money."

"You'd of thought the three were siblings!" Professor Flitwick chimed in. "Of course, two of them were actually siblings. They were inseparable!"

"Of course they were," Fudge said. "Potter trusted both of the Black twins more than anyone else in their group of friends. Nothing changed when they left school. Black was best man and Carina was maid of honor when James married Lily. Lily was also named maid of honor at Carina's wedding when she married that John Smith fellow. Then they named Sirius godfather to Harry. Harry has no idea, of course. You can imagine how the idea would torment him."

"Because Black turned out to be in league with You-Know-Who?" Madam Rosmerta whispered.

"Worse even than that, m'dear," Fudge dropped his voice to a low rumble.

"Not many people are aware that the Potters knew You-Know-Who was after them. Dumbledore, who was of course working tirelessly against You-Know-Who, had a number of useful spies. One of them tipped him off, and he alerted James and Lily at once. He advised them to go into hiding. Well, of course, You-Know-Who wasn't an easy person to hide from. Dumbledore told them that their best chance was the Fidelius Charm."

Rosmerta asked how a Fidelius charm worked and Flitwick said that a conceals a secret inside a single, living soul. The secret is hidden inside a chosen person (Secret-Keeper) and is impossible to find, unless the Secret-Keeper chooses to divulge it.

"So, Black was the Potters' Secret-Keeper?" Madma Rosmerta whispered.

"Naturally," Professor McGonagall said. "James Potter told Dumbledore that Black would die rather than tell where they were, that Black was planning to go into hiding himself…..and yet, Dumbledore remained worried. I remember him offering to be the Potters' Secret-Keeper himself."

"He suspected Black?" Madam Rosmerta gasped.

"He was sure that somebody close to the Potters had been keeping You-Know-Who informed of their movements," Professor McGonagall said darkly. "Indeed, he had suspected for some time that someone on our side had turned traitor and was passing a lot of information to You-Know-Who."

"But James Potter insisted on using Black?"

"He did," Fudge said heavily. "And then, barely a week after the Fidelius Charm had been performed—"

"Black betrayed them?" Madam Rosmerta breathed,

"He did indeed. Black was tired of his double-agent role, he was ready to openly declare his support for You-Know-Who and he seems to have planned this for the moment of the Potters' death. But, as we all know, it turned out to be You-Know-Who's downfall not Harry Potter's. Powers gone, horribly weakened, he fled. And this left Black in a very nasty position indeed. His master had fallen at the very moment when he, Black, had shown his true colors as a traitor. He had no choice but to run for it—"

"Filthy, stinkin' turncoat!" Hagrid said, so loudly that half the bar went quiet.

"Shh!" Professor McGonagall said.

"I met him!" Hagrid growled. "I must bin the last ter see him before he killed all them people! It was me what rescued Harry from Lily an' James's house after they was killed! Jus' got him outta the ruins, poor little thing, with a great slash across his forehead, an' his parents dead…an' Sirius Black turns up, on that flyin' motorbike he used ter ride. Never occurred ter me what he was doin' there. I didn' know he'd bin Lily an' James's Secret-Keeper. Thought he'd jus' heard the news o' You-Know-Who's attack an' come ter see what he could do. White an' shakin', he was. An' yeh know what I did? I COMFORTED THE MURDERIN' TRAITOR!" Hagrid roared.

Professor McGonagall urged Hagrid to keep his voice down. Hagrid began breaking down saying how was he suppose to know Black wasn't sad about Lily and James's deaths and how Black fought to get Harry to live with him but Harry was sent to his uncles and how Black ended up giving Hagrid his motorbike.

"But what if I'd given Harry to him, eh? I bet he'd've pitched him off the bike halfway out ter sea. His bed' friends' son! But when a wizard goes over ter the Dark Side, there's nothin' and no one that matters to 'em anymore. I can't imagine how Carina mus've felt abou' her own brother betrayin' her best friend…."

"But he didn't manage to disappear, did he? The Ministry of Magic caught up with him next day!" Madam Rosmerta said.

"It was not we who found him. It was little Peter Pettigrew—another of the Potters' friends. Maddened by grief, no doubt, and knowing that Black had been the Potters' Secret-Keeper, he went after Black himself." Fudge said.

"Pettigrew…..that little fat boy who was always tagging around aafter them at Hogwarts?" Madam Rosmerta said.

"Hero-worshipped Black and Potter," Professor McGonagall said. "Never quite in their league, talent-wise. I was often sharp with him. I regret that now…."She sounded as though she had a sudden head cold.

"There, now, Minerva," Fudge said kindly. "Pettigrew died a heroic death. Eyewitnesses—Muggles, of course, we wiped their memories later— told us how Pettigrew cornered Black. They say he was sobbing, 'Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?' And then he went for his wand. Well, of course, Black was quicker. Blew Pettigrew to smithereens. Black was taken away by twenty member of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad and Pettigrew received the Order of Merln, First Class, which I think was some comfort to his poor mother. Black's bern in Azkaban ever since."

Madam Rosmerta asked if Black was mad and Fudge explained his encounter with Black in Azkaban and how Black seemed normal and that Black will probably eventually rejoin You-Know-Who. They soon left and Ron and Hermione's faces appeared under the table. They were both staring at Harry, lost for words.

* * *

><p>I just would like to say TODAY'S MY BIRTHDAY! Did you know that Lily Potter was born January 30 too? I found that out and I was so excited. So, I don't know how long the next chapter will take because I won't have anytime this weekend to write it. I'm going to be leaving later today to go to Orlando because there's a Celebration of Harry Potter going on at Universal and James and Oliver Phelps (The WEASLEY TWINS), Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), Michael Gambon (Albus Dumbledore), and Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid) will be there. I hope I get to meet James, Oliver, and Evanna because they're my favorites. Anyway thanks for all the reviews and to the new followers: scarebear12, truecanadian-Eh, Themarauders21, sophiealison1998, and kayluvsall.<p>

Reply to Reviews:

Rukia-Chappy: Glad you liked River Song!

Teckie De Cool: Thank you!

NicoleR85: Here's the new update!

TENZA: Glad you enjoyed it! Sir Cadogen was fun to write.

Rainpelt the Doctor: That's cool!

Ghostwriter71: Possibly...

Ghostwriter71: Thanks!

nerdfighter1309: No, but he has a connection with the master...

Themarauders21: Yep, it happens in this chapter.


	11. Kisses, Feuds, Vinyls, and Brooms

Chapter 11: Kisses, Feuds, Vinyls, and Brooms

Harry and Claire left Hogsmeade neither one talking to the other. Harry was caught up in his thoughts about what just occurred and Claire knew it would be better for her not to say anything until he cooled down. Once they were in the Gryffindor common room, Claire spoke to him.

"Are you alright, Harry?" Claire asked concerned.

Harry didn't say anything.

"I'll take that as a no," Claire muttered.

A few moments of silence passed until Harry spoke.

"Did you know?" Harry said suddenly, a hint of anger in his tone.

"Know about what exactly?" Claire questioned confused.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Harry sneered turning to Claire with rage burning green eyes. "I bet you knew all along about Black betraying my parents. I wouldn't be surprised if you helped him get into the castle!"

Claire was taken aback. She felt a mixture of anger and sadness wash over her.

"Are you crazy?" Claire exclaimed in disbelief and outrage. "I would never do let him in the castle! Have you forgotten that he's after me too? I can't believe you would think I would do something like that!"

"Well, I never thought you'd petrify those people and open the chamber of secrets last year, yet you did," Harry said.

Claire couldn't believe her ears.

"Maybe you forgot that _tiny_ little detail about how I was being _CONTROLLED_!" Claire exclaimed angrily.

Suddenly, the portrait swung open revealing Ron and Hermione. They seemed to feel the tension in the air between Claire and Harry as they were glaring daggers at one another.

"You know what Harry," Claire began. "Talk to me when you actually start making sense!"

Claire stormed out through the portrait leaving Ron and Hermione wondering what they'd missed. As Harry began to calm down, he felt a pang of guilt.

"What happened between you two?" Ron said.

"I said some terrible things and I'm beginning to regret them," Harry muttered.

"What did you say exactly?" Hermione asked.

Harry told them what he'd said.

"I'm so stupid," Harry said.

"Yes, you are," Hermione said looking at him with disapproval. "How could you say such things? Claire would never betray you. And besides Black isn't only after you he's after her too. She wouldn't let Black in the castle. Also, she just found out this year information on her parents. It's obvious that she didn't know anything about Black's connection to your parents until today."

"I didn't mean what I said," Harry replied, "I was just angry that I had to find this out by eavesdropping on a conversation."

"Still, you shouldn't take your anger out on others, Harry," Hermione said. "You could end up hurting people you care about."

"Well, what can I do? Claire's bound to be cross with me now." Harry said.

"Wait for her to calm down," Ron said. "There's no since in trying to talk to her while she's mad. It's like talking to a brick wall."

"Ron's right for a change," Hermione said, ignoring Ron's glare. "Then after she's calmed down talk to her and apologize."

"You make it sound like it'll be easy," Harry muttered.

"Oh, it's definitely_ not_ going to be easy," Hermione said bluntly. "But then again that's what you get for snapping at Claire."

"Why don't we go visit Hagrid?" Ron suggested. "By the time we get back, Claire should be in a better mood and then you can apologize to her."

"Ron, he's not suppose to leave the grounds—" Hermione was cut off.

"I've already been off the grounds, Hermione," Harry said, heading towards the portrait. "Besides this way I can ask Hagrid why he never mentioned Black when he told me about my parents."

And with that, the three of them headed to Hagrid's hut. He would get answers about Black and then when he got back he would apologize to Claire. He only hoped that she would forgive him.

* * *

><p>Claire roamed the castle. The once empty castle was now filling with students as they came back from Hogsmeade to pack the last of their belongings before leaving later on to go home for the holidays. She was still upset about her fight with Harry. It hurt to know that Harry thought she'd let Black in the castle. Why would she do that when Black was after her to? Not to mention it felt as though Harry didn't trust her.<p>

Now was one of those times where she wished there was a music room at Hogwarts so she could forget about troubling things. Suddenly, a door appeared on one of the walls. Claire was shocked._ That door wasn't there a second ago._ She thought. _I wonder what's behind it._ She looked up and down the hallway before opening the door. When she opened the door, she saw a room that had tons of musical instruments. It reminded her alot of the shop near the Weasley's house _"Treble and Bass"_. There were several couches in the room as well.

"Whoa," she breathed.

Claire's eyes landed on one of the guitars. It was a Fender Stratocaster Surf Green electric guitar. She had seen the guitar at "Treble and Bass" and it was her dream guitar. She picked up the guitar and began playing _"Nothing Else Matters"_ by Metallica. Claire then began to sing.

_So close no matter how far_

_Couldn't be much more from the heart_

_Forever trusting who we are_

_And nothing else matters_

_Never opened myself this way_

_Life is ours, we live it our way_

_All these words I don't just say_

_And nothing else matters_

_Trust I seek and I find in you_

_Every day for us something new_

_Open mind for a different view_

_And nothing else matters_

_Never cared for what they do_

_Never cared what they know_

_And I know_

_So close no matter how far_

_Couldn't be much more from the heart_

_Forever trusting who we are_

_And nothing else matters_

_Never cared for what they do_

_Never cared what they know_

_And I know_

_Never opened myself this way_

_Life is ours, we live it our way_

_All these words I don't just say_

_And nothing else matters_

_Trust I seek and I find in you_

_Every day for us something new_

_Open mind for a different view_

_And nothing else matters_

_Never cared for what they say_

_Never cared for games they play_

_Never cared for what they do_

_Never cared for what they know_

_And I know_

_So close no matter how f_ar

_Couldn't be much more from the heart_

_Forever trusting who we are_

_No nothing else matters_

As she strummed the last note, she heard clapping. She turned around and saw Jason standing by the door.

"What are you doing here?" Claire questioned as she put the guitar back on the stand.

"I saw you come into the Room of Requirement," Jason answered.

"That's what this room is called?" Claire said.

Jason nodded. "By the way you play really well and you have a beautiful voice."

Claire felt her cheeks heat up a bit. "Thanks. But why did you follow me in here?"

"You looked upset and I wanted to make sure you're alright." Jason said. "Are you alright?"

"Better than I was a few minutes ago," Claire said.

"What happened?" Jason asked.

"It's nothing. Harry and I had a disagreement of sorts," Claire replied.

"What was your disagreement about?" Jason said.

Claire hesitated. She couldn't tell him about Black. "That's not important. He just said some things about something and basically he can't trust me now,"

Claire sat down on the couch.

"That's very specific," Jason said sarcastically joining her on the couch. "What exactly did he say?"

"I can't tell you,"

"Do you not trust me?"

"That's not fair. You can't play that card."

"Well, you aren't telling me the whole story. I thought friends tell each other everything."

Claire sighed. Did she trust him enough to tell him? What if he told everyone? "You have to promise that you won't tell anyone."

He nodded. Claire hesitated at first before telling him the whole story.

"So, Malfoy wasn't joking when he said you were Black's niece." Jason muttered absentmindedly.

"What?" Claire said. "When did Malfoy tell you that?"

"After I stood up for you in the Great Hall," Jason said. "I think he was trying to get me to stay away from you."

So Malfoy did know about Black being her uncle. The question is why hadn't he told anyone else?

"Of course, it didn't work since I'm here right now. I wouldn't care if you were related to Black." Jason said. "And Harry shouldn't've accused you for letting Black in. Why would you do that if Black's after you too?"

"Well, now that I've calmed down, I think he was just pissed off about having to find out this information unintentionally. If we'd've never snuck into Hogsmeade then we would've never found this out. So, I guess he was just taking out his anger on me." Claire said.

"Still, he shouldn't've done that," Jason replied.

A few moments passed.

"Thank you," Jason said.

"Shouldn't I be saying that?" Claire teased. "And why are you saying 'thank you'?"

"For taking a chance on me," Jason said.

Claire's mind drifted off to the valentine she'd gotten last year. Realization rushed over her.

"It was you. You sent me that valentine last year." Claire said.

Claire swore she saw Jason blush slightly.

"Yea," Jason said rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "I hope it wasn't too corny. I just—well like the card said I wanted you to give me a shot."

"To be your friend of course." he added quickly.

Claire smiled. "That was…sweet of you. I'm actually glad I gave you a chance. You're very different from how I imagined you'd be. I guess some people can surprise you."

"Yea, and I'm glad that we're friends," Jason said. "You're not like most girls. I'm lucky to have someone like you in my life."

Then something unexpected happened. Jason kissed Claire on the lips. Claire didn't know how to react. She pulled away from him before the kiss got any deeper. She quickly ran out of the room ignoring Jason calling her name. _What the hell just happened?_ She thought to herself.

"Claire!" Claire turned around drawing her wand.

"Whoa, put that thing down!" It was Fred and George Weasley. They held up their hands defensively.

"Don't sneak up on people!" Claire snapped, putting her wand away.

"What's got you all flustered?" Fred asked curiously, taking in her blushing cheeks.

"I think I know what it was Fred," George gave a sly smile. "We saw her come out of the Room of Requirement and now she's blushing. Not to mention Harry and her were together earlier today. Perhaps they had some private time together in the ROR."

_"What?!"_ Claire exclaimed, blushing even more. "No!"

Fred looked furious. "Where is Harry? We're going to have to straighten him out George! They're only thirteen!"

"You both have it all wrong!" Claire said, trying to prevent them for going after Harry. "I wasn't with Harry in the Room of Requirement. I was…." Claire was debating on whether or not she was going to tell the twins about Jason kissing her.

"You were what?" Fred asked, his eyes still ablaze.

"I was alone. You see, Harry and I sort of had a disagreement when we got back from Hogsmeade. So, I decided to roam the castle to calm my nerves and I stumbled upon the Room of Requirement. I went into it and I stayed there for a while before I left." Claire explained.

"Why did you run out of it though?" George asked.

"I realized that it was getting close to dinner and I wanted to make it to the Great Hall because I was starving," Claire lied.

She hoped they'd believe her lie.

"Oh," George said. Fred seemed to have calmed down but he looked suspiciously at Claire.

"Are you sure that's the_ real_ reason?" Fred said, eyeing her with a suspicious eye.

Claire was about to answer when her stomach growled. "Yep. See told you I was hungry."

"Ok," Fred said. "Then I guess George and I will escort you there. Won't we, George?"

"Of course," George agreed.

They offered her each one of their elbows and she took it. She sighed internally with relief. Fred seemed to look as though he wasn't mad a few seconds ago. She hoped neither of the twins would find out about the kiss. Her mind went back to the kiss. Claire couldn't believe Jason kissed her. He didn't seem like he was interested in her that way. He was always saying that he wanted to be her friend and nothing more than that. What would she say when they saw each other again? It would definitely be awkward. Claire was glad when she made it to the Great hall. She noticed that there was barely anyone there.

"Where is everyone?" Claire questioned.

"It's the holidays, remember?" George said.

"Yea, after Hogsmeade everyone boarded the train home for the holidays," Fred said.

"Oh, right," Claire said.

Claire spotted Harry, Ron, and Hermione at the Gryffindor table. She scanned the hall looking to see if Jason was anywhere to be found. He was sitting at the Slytherin table with another Slytherin. She avoided eye contact with him. Claire unhooked her arms from the twins.

"Well, thanks for escorting me here," Claire thanked them. "I'm going to go sit with Harry, Ron, and Hermione."

"It was no problem, milady," The twins said mocking a bow.

"And if you need us to take care of Harry about the fight just let us know," Fred said.

"Will do," Claire left them and headed over to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. In all honesty, she'd forgotten her anger. Harry looked at her apprehensively as she took a seat next to him. She turned towards him. Hermione cleared her throat and Harry swallowed nervously.

"Claire, I'm sor—"

"It's alright, Harry." Claire said, cutting him off. "I forgive you, but if you ever do it again I won't hesitate to hex you into oblivion."

Harry smiled weakly. "I'll hold you to that."

"Hermione, pass the potatoes, please," Claire said.

Hermione handed her the potatoes.

"So, what did you three do?" Claire asked as she scooped some potatoes on her plate.

"We visited Hagrid's and—" Hermione, Harry, and Ron told Claire how when they went to Hagrid's they'd discovered Buckbeak was going to be on trial.

Claire clenched her jaw. "That foul, evil, broom-headed, pureblood bastard—"

_"Claire!"_ Hermione exclaimed.

"Aw, come on, Hermione," Ron complained. "You can't say you don't agree with Claire."

"Of course, I do," Hermione said. "But no matter what she calls him it doesn't change the fact that Buckbeak is going to be on trial."

Claire sighed. "You're right, but what are we going to do? We can't let an innocent creature be killed because Malfoy's father's tucking galleons into the the Ministry's robes. Are we going to help Hagrid with the trial?"

"Yes," Harry said.

"We're planning on researching other cases with hippogriffs. We're going to build Hagrid a strong defense." Hermione explained.

"Then count me in. We're going to make sure Buckbeak isn't convicted." Claire said.

* * *

><p>That night in the girls' dormitory Hermione and Claire were getting ready for bed.<p>

"You know," Hermione said suddenly. "Harry felt horrible about the way he treated you earlier. I'm glad you decided to forgive him. And I'm sure he's really happy that you forgave him."

Claire looked over at Hermione who was smiling. _There she goes with the weird smile again._ Claire thought to herself.

"Well, I can't stay mad at him forever," Claire said. "Besides I'm over it. As long as he doesn't do something like that again to me, I'll be fine. Not to mention that having time to calm down helped a lot to."

"By the way," Hermione began. "Where did you go when you left the common room?"

Claire stopped dead in her tracks. Her mind went back to the kiss with Jason. _Should I tell her?_ Claire thought. _Well, if I don't tell her she'll keep nagging me about it. This is Hermione after all._

Claire cleared her throat. "I went to the Room of Requirement."

Hermione's eyes lit up in excitement. "Really? I read all about it in _Hogwarts A History._ How'd you find it?"

Claire explained how she found it and Hermione seemed to find it interesting. Hermione then told Claire how the Room of Requirement only appears when a person is in great need of it.

"What did you do in there?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, just played some guitars,"_ and kissed a Slytherin no big_ Claire said in her mind.

"Is that all you did?" Hermione questioned.

Claire hesitated. "N-Yes."

Hermione looked suspiciously at Claire much like Fred had done earlier. "You're lying. What aren't you telling me?"

Claire took a deep breath. "Promise not to tell Ron, Fred, and George. They'd go mad."

"Sure. Now, what happened in the Room of Requirement?"

"Well, I was playing a song on the guitar and when I finished Jason Saxton was clapping. He said he followed me into the room and well we got to talking and I found out he was the one who sent the valentine last year," Claire began.

"Really?" Hermione said. "That's so sweet."

"That's not all though. I told him about, you know," Claire then brought her voice down to a whisper, "Black,"

"What?" Hermione whispered furiously. "Claire, why would you do that?"

"Shh!" Claire said. "It's alright, ok. Apparently, Malfoy had already told him about Black being my uncle after that incident in the Great Hall when Jason stuck up for me."

"Still, that doesn't mean you can trust Saxton. And why are you calling him Jason?" Hermione questioned.

"Well, I'm trying to trust Jason. He's my friend and that's why I call him Jason because that's his name." Claire said.

"Well, what else happened?" Hermione said.

"He…well, he…..hekissedme." Claire said really fast.

"What?" Hermione said confused.

"He kissed me." Claire repeated.

Hermione was silent for a few moments. "Did you enjoy it?"

Claire glared at her. "Really? That's the first thing you ask?"

"Well, did you?" Hermione asked again.

Claire thought about the kiss. Did she enjoy it? She'd never been kissed before so she really didn't know what to say. She remembered that his lips were soft and she remembered it to be awkward.

"I—I don't know, it was my first kiss," Claire answered.

Claire noticed that Hermione seemed relieved.

"That's good," Hermione said.

"Why?" Claire questioned.

"Oh, it's just someone we know would've been upset if you'd enjoyed it," Hermione smiled knowingly.

"Definitely," Claire agreed.

Hermione's eyes grew wide. "You know?"

"Of course, Ron, Fred, and George would've gone berserk if they found out," Claire said.

"Oh," Hermione seemed to be disappointed. "Of course. I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" Claire questioned. "You're not going to tell them, are you?"

"No, I said I wouldn't tell them. I think I left something in the common room. I'll be right back." Hermione then headed down to the common room.

Claire raised her eyebrow. She shrugged and crawled into her bed falling fast asleep.

* * *

><p>Hermione went down to the common room seeing Harry sitting on the couch alone.<p>

"Harry, I have to tell you something about Claire," Hermione greeted him.

Harry wondered what Hermione was going to say. As Hermione told him about Claire. he'd never imagined that it'd be about Claire kissing Saxton.

"What?!" Harry exclaimed.

"Shh!" Hermione scolded. "You're going to wake the whole house!"

"Who else knows?" Harry whispered.

"Only you and me. And if it's any consolation she didn't enjoy it." Hermione said.

Harry found himself to be elated that Claire didn't enjoy the kiss, although he didn't know why.

"That's good. I—I mean—"

"It's okay, Harry. It's pretty obvious." Hermione said.

"What's obvious?" Harry questioned.

"That you and Claire have feelings for each other," Hermione said as though it were simple.

"What? No, I don't—I mean how could I? We've been best friends since first year and—"

"Harry, you can deny as much as you want but it doesn't change the fact that you like Claire." Hermione said.

Though Harry had been interrogated by the Weasley Twins about liking Claire he still couldn't say his feelings out loud because in truth he really didn't know what to feel. The thought of liking Claire didn't seem to horrible. She was very pretty, not that that mattered to him. She had a nice smile, beautiful eyes and her laugh sent an odd feeling through him and whenever she hugged him he felt a strange rush go through him and—

"Oh, Merlin," Harry couldn't believe it. "I really do _like_ Claire."

Hermione smiled. "Good to see you admitting it."

"But what do I do?" Harry questioned.

"Get Claire to realize her feelings for you," Hermione replied like it was the simplest thing in the world. "Well, it's getting late. Good night, Harry."

Hermione left Harry who was staring deeply into the fire thinking. How in the world was he suppose to do that?

* * *

><p>Christmas morning soon came and Claire, Hermione, Ron, and Harry were down in the common room opening their presents. Claire opened her present from Mrs. Weasley. She pulled out a dark green sweater with the letter C in gold on the front. She pulled it over her shirt.<p>

"I love these sweaters. They're perfect for lounging around and doing nothing." Claire said. "I don't see why you hate them, Ron."

"Because I always get maroon and I look stupid in them," Ron muttered, while he pulled his maroon sweater over his head.

"I don't think you look stupid in them," Hermione said, her pinks turning slightly pink.

Claire and Harry noticed Ron's ears turn slightly pink. "Thanks," he muttered.

Claire could've sworn she saw Ron puff out his chest. She rolled her eyes and then continued opening her presents. One of her presents had no name on it or card. It was a rectangular shape and it was thick. She grabbed it and tour open the present. There was box and she opened. Claire's eyes went wide.

_"No way!"_ Claire squealed.

"What?" Ron said looking at her weirdly.

"Shh!" Claire said. "This moment needs complete silence."

Claire pulled out a record player and a vinyl copy of _Nevermind_ by Nirvana. The best part was that it was signed by all the band members. Hermione and Harry looked at it in shock. Ron seemed to be the only one who had no clue what the big deal was.

"You see this?" Claire said. "This is vinyl copy of _Nevermind_ by the muggle band Nirvana and it's signed by the band members. Kurt Cobain touched this. I can't believe it!"

"What?" Ron questioned.

"I'll explain later," Claire said.

"Who sent it to you?" Hermione asked.

"There's no card," Claire said.

Claire noticed one of Harry's presents looked to be a long, thin package.

"What's that Harry?" Claire questioned, pointing to the present.

"Dunno….." Harry ripped the parcel open and gasped as a magnificent, gleaming broomstick rolled out onto the floor. Ron, who had just unwrapped a pair of maroon socks, dropped it on the floor and stared open-mouthed at Harry's gift.

"I don't believe it," Ron said hoarsely.

"What's the big deal?" Hermione questioned.

Claire was staring in awe of the broomstick. "What's the big deal? Hermione this is a Firebolt! It's the fastest broom on the market."

"Not to mention it costs a fortunate. It'd take years before my parents would be able to buy a broom like that," Ron said, his ears turning a bit red.

"Who's it from?" Claire asked Harry. "Is there a card?"

Harry looked for a card. "No."

Hermione frowned. "Don't you find this all a bit suspicious? I mean Firebolts are expensive and that Nirvana vinyl must have been hard to get. Whoever gave it to them should've left a card."

"Who cares?" Ron said impatiently. "Listen, Harry, can I have a go on it? Can I?"

"Me too," Claire said excitedly.

"I don't think anyone should ride that broom just yet!" Hermione said shrilly.

Claire, Harry, and Ron looked at her.

"What d'you think Harry's going to do with it—sweep the floor?" Ron said.

But before Hermione could answer, Crookshanks, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, sprang right at Ron's chest.

"GET—HIM—OUT—OF—HERE!" Ron bellowed as Crookshanks's claws ripped at his Weasley sweater and Scabbers, who apparently had been in Ron's pajama pockets, attempted a wild escape over Ron's shoulder. Ron seized Scabbers by the tail and aimed a misjudged kick at Crookshanks that hit one of the legs of the couch, causing Ron to hop up and down howling with pain.

"You'd better take that cat out of here, Hermione," Ron said furiously, sitting on the couch nursing his toe.

Claire noticed Scabbers was on the arm of the couch and Crookshanks was about to pounce on him. Claire grabbed the cat before he sprung on Scabbers.

"Here's your cat Hermione," Claire said handing a hissing Crookshanks to Hermione.

Ron had grabbed Scabbers from the couch.

"He's not looking too good, is he?" Harry said, observing Scabbers who was very skinny and patches of his hair had fallen out.

"It's stress!" Ron said. "He'd be fine if that big stupid furball left him alone!"

Claire disagreed with Ron because she remembered when Ron went to Magical Menagerie for a Rat Tonic that rats only lived three years. Scabbers had lived for twelve and Claire couldn't help but wonder how in the world Scabbers had lived eight years longer than the average rat.

* * *

><p>Christmas spirit was definitely thin because of Ron and Hermione's argument that occurred after Ron tried to kick Crookshanks. Hermione and Ron weren't talking to one another and Harry and Claire had to endure the awkwardness during breakfast. By lunchtime, Hermione and Ron actually spoke one or two words to each other that didn't offend one or the other.<p>

"This must be a new record for them," Claire said to Harry.

As they entered the Great Hall for dinner, they spotted a table set for twelve. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, Flitwick, Filch, one extremely nervous-looking first year, and two Slytherins: one of them was Jason Saxton. Claire tried to ignore the glance from Jason. Harry noticed Saxton looking at Claire and tried not to look angry. Dumbledore said Merry Christmas to them. Suddenly, Professor Trelawney came into the hall.

"Sibyll, this is a pleasant surprise!" Dumbledore said, standing up.

"I have been crystal gazing, Headmaster," Professor Trelawney said, in her mistiest, most faraway voice, "and to my astonishment, I saw myself abandoning my solitary dinner and coming to join you. Who am I to refuse the promptings of fate? I at once hastened from my tower, and I do beg you to forgive my lateness…."

"Certainly, certainly," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. "Let me draw you up a chair—"

And he did indeed draw a chair in midair with his wand, which resolved for a few seconds before falling with a thud between Professor Snape and McGonagall. Professor Trelawney, however, did no sit down; her enormous eyes had been roving around the table, and she suddenly uttered a kind of soft scream.

"I dare not, Headmaster! If I join the table, we shall be thirteen! Nothing could be more unlucky! Never forget that when thirteen dine together, the first to rise will be the first to die!"

"We'll risk it, Sibyll," Professor McGonagall said impatiently. "Do sit down, the turkey's getting stone cold."

Professor Trelawney then asked where Professor Lupin was. Professor McGonagall said that Sibyll should already know that since she's a seer. Dumbledore changed the conversation saying that Professor Lupin wasn't in any immediate danger because Snape was making Lupin's potion.

The rest of the dinner, Professor Trelawney behaved almost normally. At least until Harry and Ron got up.

"My dears! Which of you left his seat first? Which?" She shrieked loudly.

"Dunno," Ron said, looking uneasily at Harry.

"I doubt it will make much difference," Professor McGonagall said coldly, "unless a mad axe-man is waiting outside the doors to slaughter the first into the entrance hall."

Even Ron laughed. Professor Trelawney looked highly affronted.

"Coming?" Harry said to Hermione.

"No," Hermione muttered. "I want a quick word with Professor McGonagall."

"Probably trying to see if she can take any more classes," Ron yawned as they made their way to the entrance hall, which was completely devoid of mad axe-man.

"She's already taking all of them." Claire said.

When they reached the portrait hole, they found Sir Cadogan enjoying a Christmas party with a couple of monks, several previous headmasters of Hogwarts, and his fat pony. Sir Cadogan caught sight of Claire.

"Fair Maiden—hic—Merry—hic—Christmas! I—hic—have a—song—hic—for you!" he slurred.

"That's nice," Claire said politely. "but you see we have something important to do—"

"I think we have time to hear the song," Ron teased.

Claire stomped on Ron's foot.

"OW! Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed hopping up and down on his foot.

"Oh, sorry Ron, you see, Sir Cadogan, Ron's hurt his foot and he needs to sit down," Claire said.

"Alright—hic—another time—hic—Password?"

"Scurvy cur," Claire said.

"And the same to you, fair maiden?" Sir Cadogan roared as the painting swung forward to admit them.

Claire and Ron sat down in the common room while Harry went to get his broom. Ron was still rubbing his swore foot glaring at Claire.

"What did you do that for?" Ron glared at her.

"Had to find some excuse to not hear his song," Claire said.

Harry soon came down with his Firebolt. Ron and Harry looked at the Firebolt in amazement. Soon, the portrait swung open revealing Hermione and Professor McGonagall.

"So that's it, is it?" Professor McGonagall said beadily, walking over to Ron and Harry who were admiring the broom. "Miss Granger has informed me that you have been sent a broomstick, Potter."

Claire, Ron, and Harry looked around at Hermione. They could see her forehead reddening over the top of her book, which was upside down.

"May I?" Professor McGonagall said, but she didn't wait for an answer before pulling the Firebolt out of their hands. She examined it carefully from handle to twig-ends. "Hmm. And there was no note at all, Potter? No card? No message of any kind?"

"No," Harry said blankly.

"I see…"Professor McGonagall said, she then turned to Claire. "Miss Granger said you also recieved a Christmas gift that had no card, note, or any message of any kind. Would you bring it to me, Miss Smith?"

Claire couldn't really say no. She went up to her dorm and came back with the vinyl and record player.

"Well, I'm afraid I will have to take these, Potter, Smith. It will need to be checked for jinxes. Of course, I'm no expert, but I daresay Madam Hooch and Professor Flitwick will strip it down—"

"Strip it down?" Ron repeated, as though Professor McGonagall was mad.

"It shouldn't take more than a few weeks," Professor McGonagall said. "You will have it back if we are sure it is jinx-free."

"There's nothing wrong with it!" Harry said, his voice shaking slightly.

"Yes, honestly, Professor—" Claire was cut off.

"You can't know that, Potter, Smith," Professor McGonagall said, quite kindly, "not until you've tested them and I'm afraid that is out of the question until we are certain that it has not been tampered with. I shall keep you informed."

Harry and Claire stood in shock staring as Professor McGonagall left with Harry's Firebolt and Claire's vinyl and record player. However, Ron rounded on Hermione.

"What did you go running to Professor McGonagall for?"

Hermione threw her book aside. She was still pink in the face, but stood up and faced Ron defiantly.

"Because I thought—and Professor McGonagall agrees with me—that that broom and vinyl and record player were probably sent to Harry and Claire by Sirius Black!"

* * *

><p><em>So, you all just experienced Claire's first kiss? What do you think about that? How do you think Claire's going to react when she sees Jason again? How about Harry's reaction to Claire kissing Saxton? He's finally admitted his feelings. When do you think Claire will? A lot happened in this chapter: Claire and Harry fight, Claire's first kiss, Harry admitting his feelings to Claire, and the anonymous Christmas presents. Did you enjoy it? My favorite parts were Sir Cadogan trying to sing to Claire and Fred and George finding Claire after she kissed Jason. As for the song Claire sings "Nothing Else Matters" by Metallica I picture her voice sounding like Lissie. Look up Lissie's cover of "Nothing Else Matters" and that's how Claire's singsplays guitar._

_Thank you to the new followers: A-Fighterlady and That-Stubborn-Biotch._

_Thanks to all the birthday wishes. Now, here's my rant about Orlando. So, I was really excited and we were told that they were handing out tickets at 7:30 am for the autograph session. City Walk closes at 2 am and the park closes at 9pm. We were staying at the Hard Rock and when you stay there you get express tickets and you can get to the park an hour prior to opening. So, my dad and I went got there about 8am and they were sold out of the tickets before 6 am. So, that means people were camping out when we were told we couldn't. I was so mad because I would've camped out to meet them. Anyway, I'm thankful that I at least was within feet of them. They had a Q and A session that you didn't need a ticket for so I at least got to see them on the stage. As far as Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade go they were AMAZING. It feels like you're in the movies. I had butterbeer, gilly water, and chocolate frogs. They were delicious. Knockturn Alley was awesome to. It was a bit creepy buy it's suppose to be. Throughtout the park they had these little sections where you'd wave your wand and it'd do a certain spell. It was pretty cool. Celestina Warbeck was there to. She's a good performer. The rides were really fun. I still like Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey better than the Gringotts Bank one. Now, I'm just hoping Universal can somehow get the rights for Doctor Who and make a park out of that. Can you imagine how fun that'd be? You'd get to ride in the TARDIS, fight Daleks, and escape the Weeping Angels!_

_Reply to Reviews:_

_Teckie De Cool: Thank you for the birthday wish! Glad you liked the Claire-Jason Fluff and that Claire's dad invented the Time Turner. I couldn't resist with that one I'm like this is too perfect. _

_Natekleh: I know. I'd imagine the same thing for when River Song turns up. I also wonder how that would work for when Carina, The Doctor, and River Song would all be in the same room. That'd be really awkward. I'm happy to hear that you found Jason interesting as a good guy. He really isn't all bad. _

_NicoleR85: Thank you! _

_Tenza: Thank you! Yea, I can't wait for the reunion between Sirius and Carina. It's going to be epic. However, I'll tell you when her parents return Claire will react differently than you would think. I think Evanna Lynch is beautiful to. She was so kind and it was really funny because Michael (Dumbledore) couldn't remember a lot from the movies since the audience asked questions about the characters and Evanna would fill in the information. She'd give all these detailed answers and then when it was James and Oliver's turns they were like now you've made are answers sound dumb._

_Rainpelt the Doctor: Thank you! And it's okay because I'm allergic to cake. I'm allergic to a lot of things actually. But thank for the thought._

_Rukia-chappy: Yep, the Doctor invented the time turner. _

_Ghostwriter71: You'll find out by the end of the book who "Howl" is. Now, you've seen how Harry reacted about the whole Black is my godfather scene._

_The marauders21: Thank you!_

_auknowntimelord: I'm not disclosing information about River and her parents return. I want it to be a surprise and I want it to be unexpected. Thank you for the birthday wish!_


	12. Crumbling Friendships

Chapter 12: Crumbling Friendships

"You're not mad at me too, are you, Claire?" Hermione asked as they walked into their dormitory.

Claire sighed exasperated. "Honestly, I was but I know that you just had Harry and I's best interests at heart."

Hermione seemed relieved. "You don't think they'll be mad at me forever, do you?"

Claire shook her head. "Trust me, once Harry gets his broom back everything'll go back to normal."

"I hope you're right," Hermione bit her lip. "Oh, why can't they just understand I didn't mean any harm when I told Professor McGonagall about your gifts? You'd think they'd be thanking me for preventing one of you from exploding or whatever Black did to curse your gifts!"

"Hermione, calm down," Claire said. "Stop thinking about it, okay? They're both too stubborn to realize why you did it. Like I said before, Harry will get his broom back and I'll get my vinyl and record player and we'll all have a good laugh about this. They'll forgive you in the end and they'll realize they acted like gits for treating you this way."

Hermione smiled. "Thank you, Claire for being so understanding. At least someone sees why I did it."

The rest of the holidays consisted of Claire and Hermione taking refuge in the library. They were looking up information for Buckbeak's trial and hiding from Harry and Ron. Well, Hermione was hiding from them, while Claire was trying to avoid Jason ever since their kiss. Claire hadn't seen Jason since that day and she wanted to keep it that way for the time being. She wasn't really sure how she was going to be able to talk to him after what happened.

It was now the first day back and Hermione and Claire were headed to Defense class. They were the first there. They entered the classroom and saw Professor Lupin. Claire noticed that he still didn't look too well.

"Good afternoon, Professor Lupin," Claire greeted him.

Professor Lupin smiled warmly at them. "Good afternoon, Miss Smith, Miss Granger."

"How was your holiday, sir?" Hermione asked.

"It was uneventful, but nonetheless it gave me time to plan the rest of this year's lesson plan." Professor Lupin said. "And you?"

"I've had better, sir," Hermione said looking solemn.

"Harry and Ron are upset with Hermione," Claire explained.

Lupin raised an eyebrow. "Why are they upset with her?"

"Harry and I received expensive/rare gifts for Christmas with no cards and Hermione thought it was suspicious. So, she reported it to Professor McGonagall who took Harry and my's gifts to be checked for jinxes. Hermione thinks that Black sent the gifts to us. Harry and Ron were upset because Professor McGonagall's going to strip down Harry's Firebolt to make sure there's no jinxes. If you ask me, they're acting really stupid about this whole ordeal." Claire said.

"I see," Lupin said. "Well, Miss Granger I think that was a very smart move on your part to inform Professor McGonagall about those gifts. I would've done the same thing. You can never be too careful."

Hermione blushed slightly at the praise.

"And I think that you are completely right, Miss Smith," Lupin said to Claire. "You're mother would've thought the same thing."

Just then, more students came into the classroom. Claire and Hermione took their seats at one of the desks. Their lesson went by smoothly and as they left the classroom they saw Harry talking to Professor Lupin.

_I wonder what that's all about._ Claire wondered.

Hermione and Claire walked to the library.

"Hermione," Claire said as they sat down at one of the tables. "Did you notice how Professor Lupin still looks ill?"

Hermione tutted. "Isn't it obvious, Claire?"

"Care to elaborate, Hermione?" Claire said, pulling out her Muggle Studies book.

Hermione dropped her voice to a whisper. "Professor Lupin's a werewolf."

"That's a pretty big assumption to make," Claire said.

Hermione sighed in frustration. "Claire, don't you remember Snape's essay we had to do?"

"What about it?" Claire questioned.

Hermione dug through her bag and pulled out a few sheets of parchments. She shoved them in Claire's hands.

"Here's my essay that I wrote. Read the first paragraph and you'll understand." Hermione then pulled out her Ancient Ruines book and began taking notes.

Claire began reading.

_Werewolves are human beings who turn into wolves upon the complete rising of the full moon. A werewolf cannot chose whether or not to transform and would kill even their best friend given the opportunity once transformed. Despite this, they are able to recall everything they have experienced throughout their transformation upon reverting to their human form. The Wolfsbane Potion, invented by Damocles, allows the werewolf to keep their human mind during transformation. Traits of those who are werewolves include cravings for rare meats, long absences between full moons, and health deterioration near full moons._

It then clicked in Claire's mind. Professor Lupin did start to look ill near full moons and would leave for a long time between them. Claire then remembered the potion Snape gave Lupin. It must've been the Wolfsbane Potion Snape gave to Lupin, not poison.

"Oh my Godric," Claire said astonished. "Lupin really_ is_ a werewolf. It makes perfect sense really. Do you think Dumbledore knows?"

"Of course," Hermione said. "but I wonder why he'd let Lupin teach since he's a werewolf."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Claire said. "I mean, the Ministry would probably disagree but I think they're just misunderstood. Sort of like Buckbeak. You're not going to tell anyone, right?"

"No," Hermione replied. "There's no reason to. He's the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had. He's even _better_ than Lockhart."

Claire faked a gasped. "Merlin, did Hermione Granger just say that Professor Lupin was a _better_ teacher than Lockhart?"

"Oh, shut up," Hermione smiled.

Hermione continued taking notes. Claire opened up her Muggle Studies book and began writing an essay on why Muggles needed electricity.

An hour passed and Claire had just finished her essay. She began to pack up and looked over at Hermione who seemed to be stressed. Claire noticed that there was four other books out in front of Hermione as she took notes at lightning speed.

"Hermione, it's about time for dinner. Why don't you take a break?" Claire asked concerned.

"I can't," Hermione said, not looking up from her books. "I have to finish taking notes. I have so much to do."

"Hermione, maybe you should drop some of these classes." Claire suggested. "There's no way that you're going to be able to handle all of these assignments for the rest of the year."

"Don't be absurd," Hermione said dismissively. "I've made it this far through the year. I'll make it for a few more months."

"Hermione—"

"Claire, I said I was fine! Now, leave me alone!" Hermione snapped earning her a "shhh!" from Madam Pince.

"Fine, then. I'll see you later." Claire muttered walking out of the library.

Claire turned the corner when she bumped into someone.

"Sorry," Claire said.

Claire then recognized the someone as Jason. Claire's cheeks burned and she quickly turned the other direction but not before Jason grabbed her wrist.

"Claire, I need to talk to you," Jason said. "about what happened in the Room of Requirement."

"I'm pretty sure I know _exactly_ what happened," Claire said. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Claire, just hear me out, please," Jason looked into her eyes.

Claire bit her lip and then sighed frustrated. "Fine. You have five minutes."

"I'm sorry that I kissed you out of the blue, ok? I haven't been completely honest with you, Claire. I've never wanted to be your friend. I've wanted to be something _more_ than that." Jason began. "I really like you Claire and I know I've made several mistakes, but I'll just come out with it. Would you go out with me?"

"Jason, I—I," Claire didn't know what to say.

"How about this," Jason said. "we go on one date. That's it okay. To the next Hogsmeade day or anything you'd like and if you don't enjoy yourself then we could go back to being friends."

"Jason, I don't know, I mean I—" Claire cut off thinking about for a second. She sighed. "Alright, fine. The next Hogsmeade day we'll go together. I'll meet you outside Honeydukes."

Jason smiled. "Alright. So, were you heading to the Great Hall?"

"Yea," Claire replied.

"Want to walk together?" Jason said.

"Sure," Claire said.

Claire didn't feel as awkward with Jason anymore as they started to talk about music.

"I'm surprised that you know muggle bands being a Slytherin and all," Claire said, as Jason told her his favorite bands which were Nirvana, Oasis, and Metallica.

"I guess I'm full of surprises," Jason smirked.

"Oh, definitely," Claire agreed. "I actually got a signed copy of Nirvana's _Nevermind_ on Vinyl for Christmas."

"Really?" Jason's eyes grew wide. "You should show me it."

"I can't," Claire said. "At least not until Professor McGonagall gives it back to me."

Jason looked confused and Claire realized she didn't tell him about how Hermione had told Professor McGonagall about Harry and her's Christmas gifts. After she explained, he seemed to understand.

"I think it was a good idea that Hermione did that." Jason said.

"She'd be glad to hear you agree with her," Claire replied.

"Where is she by the way?" Jason asked.

"In the library. She's trying to complete all her homework for her classes." Claire said, as they entered the Great Hall together. "Well, I guess I'll see you later, Jason."

"Bye, Claire," Jason went to sit over at the Slytherin table, who were eyeing the two of them suspiciously. In fact, all of the houses were staring at them suspiciously. Claire ignored it and sat down at the Gryffindor table. Next thing she knew, Harry and Ron sat in front of her. Claire noticed Ron looked as mad as Fred had been the other day. She also noticed that Harry also seemed to be upset which she didn't know why.

"Oh, so now you two want to talk to me?" Claire glared at Harry and Ron. "I thought you both were avoiding me because I sided with Hermione."

"What were you doing with_ Saxton_?" Ron questioned.

Claire ignored him and continued to pile food onto her plate.

"Well?" Ron questioned.

"It's none of your business," Claire snapped. "Now, leave me alone and let me enjoy my food in peace."

Harry then blurted out, "You were snogging him again, weren't you?"

Claire was drinking water when Harry said this and choked a bit.

"What do you mean _again_?" Ron questioned looking furiously at Claire.

"How did you know about that?" Claire glared at Harry. Then she realized who told him. She was going to have some strong words with Hermione when she got back from the library.

Ron looked furious and he stood up from his seat. Claire stood up to.

"What do you think you're going to do?" Claire questioned.

"I'm going to go have a talk with Saxton." Ron said.

"No, you're not, Ron. Bud out of my life. I'm a big girl and can take care of myself, alright?" Claire was peeved. "There's no reason for you to talk to him. He hasn't done anything wrong. If I hear you did something, I guarantee you will regret it."

Claire was no longer hungry and marched out of the Great Hall frustrated with her three friends. Hermione had told Harry about the kiss. Harry blurted it out to Ron. And now Ron was trying to kill or seriously injury Jason. Claire climbed the stairs to Gryffindor tower. It was only a matter of time before Ron would tell the twins. She came upon Sir Cadogan's portrait. His face lit up with glee.

"Fair Maiden, how are—"

"Yellow Goblets," Claire said, not wanting to talk.

The portrait door swung open and Claire walked into the common room and saw Hermione sitting in the corner studying. Claire's eyes narrowed.

"You!" Claire exclaimed, making Hermione jump.

"Oh, Claire, you—" Hermione noticed Claire looked furious. "Are you alright?"

"You tell me, how would you feel if your friend promised you they wouldn't tell anyone about your first kiss because certain people would react badly if they found out, then that friend who promised you they wouldn't tell anyone, ended up telling someone, and that someone they told told the person who your friend knew would react badly to it?" Claire said.

Hermione's eyes widened. "Claire, listen, you told me not to tell Fred, George, or Ron and I didn't. I told Harry."

"How does that make it any _better_?!" Claire shouted.

"If you would just listen—"

"NO!" Claire exclaimed. "From this point forward it'll be like we were _never_ friends."

Claire marched upstairs. Hermione watched as Claire left the common room to go upstairs. She didn't mean to make Claire mad. She needed to tell someone about the kiss because she didn't have a good feeling about Jason. Hermione didn't know what to do, but she wished in that moment she'd have never told Harry about it because she'd lost one of her best friends.

* * *

><p><em>Drama! This chapter reminded me of those Soap Operas. It was interesting to write to say the least. Do you think Claire had a right to be mad with Harry, Ron, and Hermione? What did you think of this chapter? I know it was kind of short but that's because it's sort of a filler chapter.<em>

_Reply to Reviews: _

_The marauders21: Those are good guesses about who Howl is._

_Teckie De Cool: I know I was upset with what Hermione did yet happy too. Even though I wrote it I just couldn't help it. Hermione just seems like she wants to get Claire and Harry together. Not to mention in this chapter, it's revealed that Hermione doesn't trust Saxton. Should she trust Saxton? If Claire and Jason seem rushed it's suppose to be that way. I have this whole plot idea that stems from Jason and Claire in this book to the fourth. It's vital to the plot that they're together in this book. I won't say why but the next book has some pretty dark elements to it. I'm glad you enjoyed the emotions of the last chapter. It's really hard writing emotions because I've never been a relationship so I take knowledge from movies and other books as well as my imagination. I don't think it's weird that you think of Harry as an antagonist. However, I would like to point out that this story will eventually be Harry/Claire pairing because again it ties together the whole plot I have in mind. By the way what's an OTP? I feel stupid for asking but I have no clue what that is._

_Natekleh: OMG! I'm sorry! That sounds like it hurt. Well, I guess Jason and Claire's kiss was really a shock for you._

_NicoleR85: Me too. But don't feel too bad because in this chapter Claire agreed to go on a date with him. _

_Rainpelt the Doctor: You were right about the card. _

_Rukia-chappy: There was definitely a lot of drama. I can't wait for Sirius to come in._

_Tenza: Yep Saxton and Claire. I know it seems a bit rushed but you'll understand in book four why that is. Sirius did give the record to Claire. I always imagined Sirius being into Rock music so I thought it'd be cool for him to share that with Claire. I'll also say that he does play the guitar because again he just seems like he would._

_Ghostwriter71: Because a love triangle adds for dramatic effect I guess. Well, sometimes they go home for Christmas. I'm not sure why they didn't for third year but I know first year their parents went to go visit Charlie in Romania, second year they stayed because of the polyjuice potion, fourth year was the yule ball, and fifth and sixth year they went to the burrow/12 Grimmuald Place (Sirius' House)._


	13. The Werewolf's Advice

Chapter 13: The Werewolf's Advice

Ever since Claire yelled at Hermione, Harry, and Ron, she hadn't spoken to any of them. She was upset with all three of them and was now spending time with Jason. Which is something she thought would've never happened.

"Are you sure you want to hang out with me?" Jason asked yet again. "I didn't mean for you to stop talking to your friends because of me."

"It's fine, Jason," Claire told him yet again. "You stood up for me with Malfoy and now I'm returning the favor. I just wish Hermione hadn't of gone behind my back and told Harry about our kiss. Ron was extremely angry when he found out."

"Does Ron like you?" Jason asked.

Claire burst out laughing. "No, no, no. It's just that we grew up together and he considers me as his sister. He doesn't want me to get hurt. I'm not blood related to him but I can't imagine how he's going to be when Ginny starts dating—I mean seeing boys."

"So now we're dating, huh?" Jason teased.

Claire rolled her eyes. "No, we're just friends for right now."

"That might change after our date at Hogsmeade," Jason said.

"Don't get your hopes up," Claire said.

The bell rang.

"Shit," Claire muttered. "We're late to Potions."

"Don't worry it'll be alright," Jason said.

"Maybe for you but I'm a Gryffindor and Snape will more than likely enjoy taking points away from me because of it," Claire said.

They soon entered the Potions classroom.

"Mr. Saxton, Miss Smith, you're late," Professor Snape said in his monotone voice. "Sit down and fifty points from Gryffindor."

Jason went to sit down at his usually table and Claire realized she'd have to sit with Hermione. Claire walked over to her seat and took out her Potions textbook as Snape droned on about a Sleeping Draught. Claire and Hermione ignored each other throughout the lesson. Towards the end of the lesson Hermione looked as though she wanted to talk to Claire. However, the bell rang before Hermione could do so.

It was lunch time and Claire wasn't very hungry. She decided to go to the common room and work on some of her homework. However, as she entered the common room, she saw one of the people who she was mad at.

Harry had just come down from the boys dormitory and caught sight of Claire coming into the common room. Claire glared at him and made her way up to the girls' dormitory.

"Claire, wait!" Harry said.

Claire turned around glaring at him. "What?"

"I just— I wanted to say I was sorry. You know, for telling Ron and everything," Harry said. "But I still think this Saxton guy isn't good for you."

"Well, I appreciate your apology and concern, Harry, but as I told Ron I can take care of myself," Claire disappeared up into the girls' dormitory.

Harry watched as she left and then headed to his anti-dementor lesson with Lupin. He was frustrated and angry at the moment. Frustated because Claire wouldn't talk to him and angry because of Saxton. _What made Claire interested in Saxton?_ Harry thought to himself. Claire wasn't the only thing on his mind. Wood had been calling for extra Quidditch practices because the match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw was coming up. To make matters worse Harry still hadn't ordered a new broom and Professor McGonagall had yet to give him his Firebolt back. His anti-dementor lessons weren't going nearly as well as he had hoped. He had been able to produce an indistinct, silvery shadow every time the boggart-dementor approached him, but his Patronus was too feeble to drive the dementor away.

"You're expecting too much of yourself," Professor Lupin said sternly as Harry had tried his Patronus again. "For a thirteen-year-old wizard, even an indistinct Patronus is a huge achievement. You aren't passing out anymore, are you?"

"I thought a Patronus would—charge the dementors down or something," Harry said dispiritedly. "Make them disappear—"

"The true Patronus does do that," Lupin said. "But you've achieved a great deal in a very short space of time. If the dementors put in an appearance at your next Quidditch match, you will be able to keep them at bay long enough to get back to the ground."

"You said it's harder if there are loads of them," Harry said.

"I have complete confidence in you," Lupin said, smiling. "Here—you've earned a drink—something from the Three Broomsticks. You won't have tried it before—"

He pulled two bottles out of his briefcase.

"Butterbeer!" Harry said, without thinking. "Yeah, I like that stuff!"

Lupin raised an eyebrow.

"Oh—Ron and Hermione brought me and Claire some back from Hogsmeade," Harry lied quickly.

"I see," Lupin said, though he still looked slightly suspicious. "Well— let's drink to a Gryffindor victory against Ravenclaw! Not that I'm supposed to take sides, as a teacher…." he added hastily.

They drank the butterbeer in silence, until Harry voiced something he'd been wondering for a while.

"What's under a dementor's hood?"

Professor Lupin lowered his bottle thoughtfully.

"Hmmmm…well, the only people who really know are in no condition to tell us. You see, the dementor lowers its hood only to use its last and worst weapon."

"What's that?"

"They call it the Dementor's Kiss," Lupin said, with a slightly twisted smile. "It's what dementors do to those they wish to destroy utterly. I suppose there must be some kind of mouth under there, because they clamp their jaws upon the mouth of the victim and— and suck out his soul."

Harry accidentally spat out a bit of butterbeer.

"What—they kill—?"

"Oh no," Lupin said. "Much worse than that. You can exist without your soul, you know, as long as your brain and heart are still working. But you'll have no sense of self anymore, no memory, no…anything. There's no chance at all of recovery. You'll just— exist. As an empty shell. And your soul is gone forever…lost."

Lupin drank a little more butterbeer, then said, "It's the fate that awaits Sirius Black. It was in the _Daily Prophet_ this morning. The Ministry have given the dementors permission to perform it if they find him."

Harry sat stunned for a moment at the idea of someone having their soul sucked out through their mouth. But then he thought of Black.

"He deserves it," he said suddenly.

"You think so?" Lupin said lightly. "Do you really think anyone deserves that?"

"Yes," Harry said defiantly. "For…for some things…."

They both took a sip of their butterbeer and it was silent for a few moments until Lupin spoke.

"So, I heard that you and your friend Mr. Weasley have been fighting with Miss Granger."

"How did you—?"

"I spoke with Miss Smith and Miss Granger the other day. Miss Smith told me about your Christmas gift being turned in to Professor McGonagall." Lupin answered.

"Oh," Harry said.

"In fact, if I'm not mistaken, I haven't seen you and your friend Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger talking with Miss Smith lately," Lupin said.

"Yea," Harry said. "We all got into a fight."

Lupin nodded. "Well, whatever it is you four fought about don't let it ruin your friendship. I've learned that it's never good if you let small things affect your friendship."

"I wouldn't call it a _small_ thing," Harry muttered.

"What is affecting your friendship with Miss Smith?" Lupin asked.

"Saxton." Harry muttered.

"Oh," Lupin said. "A boy is the problem?"

Harry noticed Lupin seemed to have a sympathetic look in his eyes. Lupin cleared his throat.

"You know, Harry," Lupin began. "I was once in your position a long time ago,"

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I once had feelings for one of my friends and she fell for someone else." Lupin said.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"She ended up marrying him." Lupin said.

Harry suddenly felt depressed. "I don't see how that was suppose to make me feel better."

Lupin chuckled. "No, but it is advice."

"Advice?" Harry questioned.

"Yes," Lupin said. "I never told her I had feelings for her and it was a mistake. There may have been a chance for us had I told her. The point is Harry you need to tell her what you feel before it's too late."

"But she won't even speak to any of us," Harry said.

"Then you need to first make amends to your friendship with her and then tell her," Lupin said. He glanced at the clock on his desk. "It's getting late and I have to prepare for the next lesson. Just think about my advice Harry."

And think Harry did. He was so distracted with his conversation with Lupin as he walked to Gryffindor Tower that he walked headlong into Professor McGonagall halfway up the stairs.

"Do watch where you're going, Potter!"

"Sorry, Professor—"

"I've just been looking for you in the Gryffindor common room. Well, here it is, we've done everything we could think of, and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it at all. You've got a very good friend somewhere, Potter….."

Harry's jaw dropped. She was holding out his Firebolt, and it looked as magnificent as ever.

"I can have it back?" Harry said weakly. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Professor McGonagall said, and she was actually smiling. "I daresay you'll need to get the feel of it before Saturday's match, won't you? And Potter— _do_ try and win, won't you? Or we'll be out of the running for the eighth year in a row, as Professor Snape was kind enough to remind me only last night…."

Speechless, Harry carried the Firebolt back upstairs toward Gryffindor Tower. As he turned a corner, he saw Ron dashing toward him, grinning from ear to ear.

"She gave it to you? Excellent! Listen, can I still have a go on it? Tomorrow?"

"Yeah…anything…" Harry said, his heart lighter than it had been in a month. "You know what—we should make up with Claire and Hermione….."

"Yeah, all right," Ron said. "Don't know if it'll be easy making up with Claire but anyway they're both in the common room right now—"

They turned into the corridor to Gryffindor Tower and saw Neville Longbottom, pleading with Sir Cadogan, who seemed to be refusing him entrance.

"I wrote them down!" Neville was saying tearfully. "But I must've dropped them somewhere!"

"A likely tale!" roared Sir Cadogan. Then, spotting Harry and Ron: "Good even, my fine young yeomen! Come clap this loon in irons. He is trying to force entry to the chambers within!"

"Oh, shut up," Ron said as he and Harry drew level with Neville.

"I've lost the passwords!" Neville told them miserably. "I made him tell me what passwords he was going to use this week, because he keeps changing them, and now I don't know what I've done with them!"

"Oddsbodikins," Harry said to Sir Cadogan, who looked extremely disappointed and reluctantly swung forward to let them into the common room. There was a sudden, excited murmur as every head turned and the next moment, Harry was surrounded by people exclaiming over his Firebolt.

While Harry was bombarded by other Gryffindors asking about his broom, Claire, who had gotten her vinyl and record player back from Professor McGonagall, was trying to figure out how to work the record player. She was excited and in better spirits than she had been since she fought with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Claire was actually considering apologizing to them for the way she acted. Claire looked up from the record player as she saw people crowding around Harry, his Firebolt, and Ron. She rolled her eyes. Hermione had also seen the scene and she too rolled her eyes. Claire and Hermione caught each other's eye and laughed.

"Claire," Hermione began. "I truly am sorry about telling Harry about your kiss with Saxton— I mean Jason. It wasn't my place to tell him and I know that I should've respected that. And as far as Saxton—I mean Jason goes it's your own choice whether you want to be with him or not. I'll support whatever you choose."

Claire smiled. "Thank you for the apology, Hermione. I think I overreacted just a bit. And I'm glad that you're giving Jason a chance."

"Friends again?" Hermione asked.

Claire nodded. "Definitely."

Claire then saw all of the textbooks in front of Hermione. One of the parchments was titled "Explain Why Muggles Need Electricity".

"I see you've been busy," Claire pointed to the work in front of Hermione.

"Yes, I have," Hermione said.

"Arithmancy looks terrible," Claire said looking at the Arithmancy chart.

They then noticed Harry and Ron coming over to them. Harry's eyes looked over to Claire's record player.

"I guess we both got back our Christmas gifts," Harry said.

"Yep," Claire replied.

"See, Hermione?" Ron said. "There wasn't anything wrong with it!"

"Well— there _might_ have been!" Hermione said. "I mean, at least you know now that it's safe!"

"Yeah," Harry said. "I'd better put it upstairs—"

"I'll take it!" Ron said eagerly. "I've got to give Scabbers his rat tonic."

He took the Firebolt and, holding it as if it were made of glass, carried it away up the boys' staircase.

"Can I sit down, then?" Harry asked Claire and Hermione.

"I guess so," Claire said.

Harry sat down.

"Claire, about earlier, my apology, I really am sorry and—" Harry was cut off.

"It's fine, Harry." Claire replied. "I realized I might have taken things a bit too far. I accept your apology."

Harry smiled and then looked around at the cluttered table in front of Hermione.

"How are you getting through all this stuff?" Harry asked her.

"Oh, well—you know—working hard," Hermione said.

Close-up, Harry saw that she looked almost as tired as Lupin.

"Why don't you just drop a couple of subjects?" Harry asked, watching her lift books as she searched for her rune dictionary.

Claire saw the rune dictionary underneath the Divination book and handed it to Hermione who thanked her.

"I couldn't do that!" Hermione said to Harry, looking scandalized.

"Arithmancy looks terrible," Harry said, picking up a very complicated-looking number chart.

"I told Hermione the same thing," Claire said.

"Oh no, it's wonderful!" Hermione said earnestly. "It's my favorite subject! It's—"

Suddenly, a strange yell echoed down the boys' staircase. The whole common room fell silent, staring, petrified, at the entrance. Then came hurried footsteps, growing louder and louder—and then Ron came leaping into view, dragging with him a bedsheet.

"LOOK!" he bellowed, striding over to Hermione's table.

"LOOK!" he yelled, shaking the sheets in her face.

"Ron, what's your problem?" Claire questioned.

"SCABBERS! LOOK! SCABBERS!" Ron bellowed to Claire.

"I think you need to check your eyes Ron," Claire said. "That's a bedsheet not a rat."

Hermione was leaning away from Ron, looking utterly bewildered. Harry looked down at the sheet Ron was holding. There was something red on it. Something that looked horribly like—

"BLOOD!" Ron yelled into the stunned silence. "HE'S GONE! AND YOU KNOW WHAT WAS ON THE FLOOR?"

"N—no," Hermione said in a trembling voice.

Ron threw something down onto Hermione's rune translation. Claire, Hermione, and Harry leaned forward. Lying on top of the weird, spiky shapes were several long, ginger cat hairs.

* * *

><p><em>Claire made up with two out of three friends so far. She also got her record playervinyl back. And what about Lupin's and Harry's conversation? Who do you think Lupin had feelings for? Do you think he gave Harry good advice and do you think Harry will follow through with it? Thanks to the new follower: katiecookie431._

_I also wanted to say that updating will be a bit slower until the end of the school year. I have SAT's to study for and now I'm taking extra classes online so I can have all my credits done for graduation for 2016 because I want to have a stress-free Senior Year. I'll try my best updating once a week but if not that it'll be every two weeks or monthly depending on how much free time I have to write. I'm sorry but I really need to focus on my education. _

_Reply to Reviews: _

_The marauders21: You'll have to wait for a while before Claire sees her parents. I know when they're going to show up but I'm not going to tell you when because it will be a surprise._

_TENZA: Yea, the last chapter was very soap opera-y. I don't really like writing dramatic sequences and it was different when I began writing that fight between the four friends. I mean they were going to fight sooner or later and I think even the best of friendships have fights so I think it was good for the characters. _

_Natekleh: Yea, I know. I didn't want to do it but I had to write what Claire would do. _

_Teckie De Cool: Thank you for clearing up the OTP. I'm happy to hear you liked the last chapter. And I'm sorry that you're sorry that Claire and Jason won't end up together in the end. However, trust me when I say he really isn't good for her. You'll see in the next book why. I haven't written Claire's and Jason's first date at Hogsmeade yet but it will definitely be interesting._

_Rainpelt the Doctor: I know the title did give it away._

_NicoleR85: I agree with you. Claire told Hermione and the whole best friend code goes by trusting and keeping each others secrets and Hermione broke that code._

_A-Fighterlady: Thank you!_

_katiecookie431: Thank you!_

_Rukia-chappy: I know right! Hermione broke the best friend code!_

_Ghostwriter71: They really are. As far as Claire overreacting and everything I was trying to figure out how to justify why she was so upset and then I realized that she has trust issues. It all goes back to her parent's abandoning her and then of course in the last book she was possessed by Tom Riddle and she thought of him as a friend but he abused her trust as well. So, yea basically that's why she reacted the way she did because it felt like she was going through those two things again._


	14. Dementors and Dates

Chapter 14: Dementors and Dates

It looked like the end of Ron and Hermione's friendship. Each was so angry with the other that Claire and Harry couldn't see how they'd ever make up. Ron was upset that Hermione didn't take Crookshanks's attempts to eat Scabbers seriously, and that Hermione was still trying to pretend that Crookshanks was innocent by suggesting he look for Scabbers under all the boys' beds. Hermione, meanwhile, maintained fiercely that Ron had no proof that Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers, that the ginger hairs might have been there since Christmas, and that Ron had been prejudiced against her cat ever since Crookshanks had landed on Ron's head in the Magical Menagerie.

Personally, Claire and Harry were sure that Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers. Harry tried to voice this opinion and Hermione snapped at him.

"Okay, side with Ron, I knew you would!" she said shrilly. "First the Firebolt, now Scabber's, everything's my fault, isn't it! Just leave me alone, Harry, I've got a lot of work to do!"

Harry left to hang out with Ron while Claire stayed with Hermione.

"Hermione, you know Harry wasn't trying to say that, right?" Claire tried to reason with her. "He's just saying that most of the evidence does point to Crookshanks." Hermione glared at her, but Claire continued to talk. "However, Ron should've kept a closer watch on Scabbers if he was so concerned over his well-being."

"Finally, someone who has some sense." Hermione said.

Ron had taken the loss of his rat very hard indeed.

"Come on, Ron, you were always saying how boring Scabbers was," Fred said bracingly. "And he's been off-color for ages, he was wasting away. It was probably better for him to snuff it quickly— one swallow—he probably didn't feel a thing."

Claire smacked Fred upside the head while Ginny said indignantly, _"Fred!"_

"All he did was eat and sleep, Ron, you said it yourself," George said.

"You two really should rethink your pep-talks." Claire said.

"He bit Goyle for us once!" Ron said miserably. "Remember, Claire, Harry?"

"Yeah, that's true," Harry said while Claire nodded.

"His finest hour," Fred said, unable to keep a straight face. "Let the scar on Goyle's finger stand as a lasting tribute to his memory. Oh, come on, Ron, get yourself down to Hogsmeade and buy a new rat, what's the point of moaning?"

In a last-ditch attempt to cheer Ron up, Harry persuaded him to come along to the Gryffindor team's final practice before the Ravenclaw match, so that he could have a ride on the Firebolt after they'd finished. This did seem to take Ron's mind off Scabbers for a moment ("Great! Can I try and shoot a few goals on it?"). Just before they left, Harry said to Claire, "Do you want to come?"

Claire shook her head. "No, thanks. I'll hang out with Hermione."

"Ok, see you later." Harry said disappearing through the portrait.

Claire went up to the girls' dormitory to find Hermione. When she entered her dorm, she saw her other two roommates Evy and Charisse.

"Hey, have you two seen Hermione?" Claire asked them.

"Yea," Evy said. "I think she was saying something about going to the library."

"I should've known," Claire muttered. "Thanks."

"Hey, Claire?" Charisse said. "What's going on between you and that Slytherin boy, Saxton?"

"Yea, we saw you two the other day talking. Are you two an item?" Evy asked with a smile.

Claire blushed lightly and cleared her throat. "Um, well, it's sort of complicated, but no offense I wouldn't tell you because it really isn't any of your business."

"Oh, you two are _so_ an item!" Charisse exclaimed. "I can't blame you though he is really attractive. I hear a lot of girls are interested in him. You're lucky he chose you."

"I don't know," Evy began. "I still say Harry and Claire would be better together."

"Excuse me?" Claire questioned.

"You're totally right, Evy," Charisse agreed. "Harry is almost as attractive as Saxton and he's really sweet too. By the way how is Harry taking it that you and Saxton are together?"

"Um, I mean, I don't know," Claire stuttered not really sure how she could reply to that.

"It's obvious that he'd be jealous, Charisse," Evy said. "You can definitely tell Harry likes Claire more than a friend. In fact," Evy turned to Claire. "I bet you like Harry more than a friend too."

"Um—" Claire was interrupted by Ginny, who had come into the room.

"Oh, there you are Claire." Ginny said. "I have to show you something."

Claire thanked whatever gods their were for Ginny saving her from this conversation.

"Ok," Claire said relieved. "Bye, Evy, Charisse."

Claire grabbed Ginny by the arm and they both walked down to the common room.

"Thank you, Ginny!" Claire said. "You saved me from that conversation. I don't know why they were so interested in my love life. By the way, what did you want to show me?"

"Nothing," Ginny replied. "I overheard your conversation with them and I figured you didn't want to talk with them."

"And this is why you're my favorite Weasley." Claire said.

"We thought—"

"—we were your favorite—"

"Weasleys."

Fred and George had just appeared out of nowhere.

"Aren't you two suppose to be at Quidditch practice?" Ginny said.

"We just finished." Fred said.

"Where are Harry and Ron?" Claire asked.

"They're still out on the field. Madam Hooch is watching them because of you know Black." George said.

"What about Black?" Ginny questioned.

"Nothing." Claire, Fred, and George said in unison.

"Sure," Ginny said in a disbelieving tone.

"So, if Ginny's your favorite Weasley—" Fred began.

"—what does that make us?" George finished.

"Well, Ginny is my favorite Weasley, then Bill, Charlie, you two, Ron, and Percy." Claire said.

"Why are we number 4?" Fred pouted.

"Because Ginny hasn't annoyed me much lately. Bill and Charlie don't annoy me much either. And then there's you two and Ron meddling in my love life and then there's Percy who, well, do I even have to explain? Now, if you three would excuse me I have to meet Hermione in the library." Claire exited the common room and went to the library.

She found Hermione at one of the tables with various books in front of her.

"Hey, Hermione." Claire greeted her. Claire glimpsed at a few of the book titles. "Are you researching stuff for Buckbeak's trial?"

"Yes, I found some really good information." Hermione said, not looking up from one of the books.

"Do you want me to take over from here so you could focus on your studies?" Claire offered.

"Yes, please, thank you," Hermione said, handing Claire her notes to continue.

The only noise for the next few moments was the flipping of pages and writing.

"Do you think Ron will ever get over Scabbers?" Hermione asked suddenly.

"Of course," Claire said. "He's just stubborn. He'll realize how much of a git he's being and apologize. Well, apologize in his own way at least because Ron doesn't really apologize."

"Why are boys so complicated?" Hermione said.

"It's not just boys you know," Claire said. "It's girls too. I think humans in general are complicated organisms."

"Still, why do we have to make things so complicated?" Hermione said.

Claire shrugged. "Let me know when you find out."

A few hours later, they left the library.

"We should go visit Hagrid and drop off the notes we made for Buckbeak's case." Hermione suggested.

"Good idea." Claire said.

They walked down to Hagrid's hut. Hagrid was outside his hut tending to the giant pumpkins. Hagrid noticed them coming and smiled.

"Hello again, Hermione. I see yeh and Claire have made up." Hagrid said.

"Yea," Hermione said.

"We've brought you some notes for Buckbeak's case." Claire said.

"Have yeh now? Well, come on in. I'll make some tea." Hagrid motioned for them to follow him inside.

As they entered Hagrid's cabin, the first thing they noticed was Buckbeak, who was stretched out on top of Hagrid's patchwork quilt, his enormous wings folded tight to his body, enjoying a large plate of dead ferrets. Claire grimaced as the sight as she sat down on the couch next to Hermione. Hagrid brought over three tea cups and a tea pitcher. He poured them each a cup of tea. Claire handed the notes for Buckbeak's trial to Hagrid.

"Thank yeh, Claire, Hermione." Hagrid said. "It means a lot ter me and Buckbeak."

"How are you feeling, Hagrid?" Hermione asked.

"Better now that we have some good stuff ter keep Buckbeak alive," Hagrid said as he sipped his tea. "What about yeh two? How are yeh?"

Hermione sighed. "It hasn't been the best of times. Ron is still angry with me. He thinks Crookshanks ate Scabbers." Hermione's eyes started to water. "It seems whatever I do this year, I can't get a break. I feel overwhelmed with all of these classes and the fact that Ron and I are fighting isn't helping at all. Claire, you were right. I shouldn't have taken all these classes."

"Oh, Hermione, it's alright." Claire said trying to comfort her friend. "It's not too late to ask Professor McGonagall to drop some of your classes, you know."

Hermione sniffed. "I suppose so. But what about Ron?"

"Forget about Ron, alright?" Claire said. "He's being an idiot. He'll eventually come around."

"Couldn't of said it better meself." Hagrid said. "You know, Claire, you remind me a lot of yeh mom. She was always a good friend and stuck by her friends' sides no matter what."

Claire smiled. "Thank you, Hagrid."

Hagrid glanced at the clock. "Would yeh look at the time? Yeh two should start headin' back."

"Thank you, Hagrid for the tea." Claire and Hermione thanked him.

"No problem. Now, Hermione remember what Claire said don't worry 'bout Ron and talk ter Professor McGonagall about your schedule if it's effectin' yeh this much. Tell Harry I said good luck for the match tomorrow." Hagrid bid them goodbye and Claire and Hermione headed back to Gryffindor Tower.

The next morning, Claire and Hermione walked down to breakfast together. As they entered the Great Hall, they saw students from various houses looking at something at the Gryffindor table.

"I wonder what all the fuss is about," Hermione said.

"I have a feeling it has to do with Harry's new broom." Claire said as she and Hermione sat down at the table.

"Sure you can manage that broom, Potter?" said a cold, drawling voice.

Claire instantly recognized the voice. She looked over at the crowd and saw no other than Draco Malfoy and his two goons Crabbe and Goyle. Draco was talking to Harry.

"Yeah, reckon so," Harry said causally.

"Got plenty of special features, hasn't it?" Malfoy said, eyes glittering maliciously. "Shame it doesn't come with a parachute—in case you get too near a dementor."

Crabbe and Goyle sniggered. Claire was about to make her way over there when Hermione pulled her back into her seat. Claire resulted to glaring at Malfoy.

"Pity you can't attach an extra arm to yours, Malfoy," Harry said. "Then it could catch the Snitch for you."

The whole table laughed loudly as Malfoy's pale eyes narrowed and he stalked away. At a quarter to eleven, the Gryffindor Quidditch team began heading for the locker rooms.

"I'm going to wish Harry luck. Are you coming?" Claire asked.

Hermione bit her lip uncertain. "I don't know. I did snap at him the other day."

Claire rolled her eyes and pulled Hermione with her over to Harry.

"Hey, Harry," Claire greeted him. "Hermione and I just wanted to wish you luck for the game."

Harry smiled. "Thanks."

"I'm going to start heading to the field to find us seats." Hermione left them.

"Nervous?" Claire asked him.

"That's an understatement," Harry said.

"Well, I'm sure you'll do brilliant. Try not to fall off your broom this time, though." Claire teased.

Harry rolled his eyes.

They then heard footsteps heading towards them and turned around to see Jason coming over to them. Harry tried not to glare at him as he walked over.

"Hello, Claire, Harry," Saxton greeted them.

"Hey, Jason," Claire said to him. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to wish Harry luck at his game." Saxton said.

"Thanks," Harry muttered. "I've got to go. See you later Claire."

Harry walked to the locker rooms feeling angry.

"What's got you in a mood?" Fred said as Harry entered the locker room.

"Nothing," Harry muttered.

Fred looked suspiciously at Harry, but decided to let it go. Harry took off his black school robes, removed his wand from his pocket, and stuck it inside the T-shirt he was going to wear under his Quidditch robes.

"You know what we've got to do," Wood said as they prepared to leave the locker rooms. "If we lose this match, we're out of the running. Just— just fly like you did in practice yesterday, and we'll be okay!"

They walked out onto the field to tumultuous applause. The Ravenclaw team, dressed in blue, were already standing in the middle of the field. Their Seeker, Cho Chang, was the only girl on their team. She was shorter than Harry by about a head, and Harry couldn't help noticing, nervous as he was, that she was extremely pretty. She smiled at Harry as the teams faced each other behind their captains. However, it didn't affect him as he heard right at the moment, "GO HARRY!" from the crowd. He looked up in the stands and saw Claire standing in between Ron and Hermione. Claire was cheering for him and Harry felt a slight lurch in the region of his stomach that he didn't think had anything to do with nerves.

Claire watched from the stands as Madam Hooch made the team captain of both teams shake hands. The players mounted their brooms and then Madam Hooch blew her whistle. The players soared through the air as Lee Jordan, a friend of Fred and George, began commentary.

"They're off, and the big excitement this match is the Firebolt that Harry Potter is flying for Gryffindor. According to _Which Broomstick_, the Firebolt's going to be the broom of choice for the national teams at this year's World Championship—"

"Jordan, would you mind telling us what's going on in the match?" Professor McGonagall's voice interrupted.

"Right you are, Professor—just giving a bit of background information—the Firebolt, incidentally, has a built-in auto-brake and—"

"Jordan!"

"Okay, okay, Gryffindor in possession, Katie Bell of Gryffindor heading for goal…"

It looked as though Harry had spotted the Snitch and had gone after it. Cho Chang had also spotted the Snitch and the two sped after it. Then a bludger, hit by one of the Ravenclaw Beaters, came pelting out of nowhere; it almost hit Harry. There was a great "Oooooooh" of disappointment from the Ravenclaw end. George Weasley vented his feelings by hitting the second Bludger directly at the offending Beater, who was forced to roll right over in midair to avoid it.

"Gryffindor leads by eighty points to zero, and look at that Firebolt go! Potter's really putting it through its paces now, see it turn— Chang's Coment is just no match for it, the Firebolt's precision-balance is really noticeable in these long—"

"JORDAN! ARE YOU BEING PAID TO ADVERTISE FIREBOLTS? GET ON WITH THE COMMENTARY!"

Claire noticed that Harry had seen the Snitch again and began racing toward it as well as Cho.

"Dementors!" Someone from the crowd shouted.

Claire then spotted three dementors, three tall, black, hooded dementors, looking up at Harry. However, these dementors didn't give off an unpleasant feeling like the other ones did.

"Something's not right," Hermione said.

"I'll say, why are there dementors on the field again?" Ron questioned.

"I don't think those are dementors," Claire said.

"They bloody well look like it," Ron said.

Suddenly, they saw Harry whip out his wand and roar, _"Expecto Patronum!"_ The crowd looked at it in awe.

"He's doing a Patronus. Only really powerful wizards can do that." Hermione said, staring in shock at the silvery-light.

"I guess that's why Harry was talking to Professor Lupin the other day. He was trying to learn it in case he came in contact with a dementor again." Claire said.

The so-called 'dementors' ended up falling to the ground and Malfoy, Flint, Crabbe, and Goyle emerged from the long black hood. Claire glared at them.

"Of course, it was Malfoy," Claire muttered angrily.

"POTTER CAUGHT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS!" Lee exclaimed through the overcome.

Ron and Claire began running down to the field to congratulate Harry. However, Claire stopped as she saw Hermione not coming.

"Aren't you coming?" Claire asked.

Hermione shook her head. "I have work to do. I'll see you later."

Claire sighed and then followed Ron down to the field. They were able to squeeze through the crowd to Harry. Harry was caught off-guard as Claire almost tackled him into a hug.

"I told you you'd be brilliant!" Claire said, smiling.

Harry felt his stomach flip as Claire smiled at him.

"Yes!" Ron yelled, yanking Harry's arm into the air. "Yes! Yes!"

"Well done, Harry!" Percy said, looking delighted. "Ten Galleons to me! Must find Penelope, excuse me—"

"Good for you, Harry!" Seamus roared.

"Ruddy brilliant!" Hagrid boomed over the heads of the milling Gryffindors.

"That was quite some Patronus," said a voice in Harry's ear.

Harry turned around to see Professor Lupin, who looked both pleased and shaken.

"The dementors didn't affect me at all!" Harry said excitedly. "I didn't feel a thing!"

"That might have been because those weren't real dementors." Claire said.

"Miss Smith is right. Come and see—" Professor Lupin led Harry out of the crowd until they were able to see the edge of the field.

"You gave Mr. Malfoy quite a fright," Lupin said.

Harry stared. Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Flint were all being scolded by Professor McGonagall.

"An unworthy trick!" she was shouting. "A low and cowardly attempt to sabotage the Gryffindor Seeker! Detention for all of you, and fifty points from Slytherin! I shall be speaking to Professor Dumbledore about this, make no mistake! Ah, here he comes now—"

If anything could have set the seal on Gryffindor's victory, it was this. Ron and Claire, who had fought their way through to Harry's side doubled up with laughter as they watched Malfoy and the others getting yelled at.

"Come on, Harry!" George said, fighting his way over. "Party! Gryffindor common room, now!"

"Right," Harry said, and feeling happier than he had in ages, he and the rest of the team led the way, still in their scarlet robes, out of the stadium and back up to the castle.

"Hey, Claire," George said. "You think you can provide the music for the party?"

Claire smiled. "Definitely."

Claire rushed up to her dorm and grabbed her vinyl and record player. She set it up in the common room. Hermione came over to her.

"You know, I was just reading our Muggle Studies textbook and it says Muggle technology doesn't work here at Hogwarts." Hermione said.

"I wouldn't say that," Claire said, as she pulled out her Sonic Screwdriver.

"What are you going to do with that?" Hermione asked.

"This is how I got the record player to work. Watch—" Claire pressed the button on her Sonic Screwdriver and _"Smells Like Teen Spirit"_ began playing.

Hermione was shocked. "How did you figure that out?"

"It was by accident really. I was trying to figure out why it wouldn't work and I knocked over my school bag and this fell out," Claire motioned to her Sonic Screwdriver. "I had a feeling that if I used it on the record player that it would start working and it did."

"WE GOT BUTTERBEER!" The twins yelled as they came through the portrait.

The Gryffindor common room was packed and everyone cheered as butterbeers were distributed throughout the room.

"Are you joining the party?" Claire asked Hermione.

Hermione shook her head and pulled her Muggle Studies book from her robes. "I have to finish this book. I still have over four hundred pages to read."

Claire looked concerned. "Hermione, have you talked to Professor McGonagall about your classes yet?"

However, Hermione had already started to read and was too deeply involved in it to answer. Fred and George came over to Claire and Hermione at that moment.

"How's the music?" Claire asked them.

"Brilliant!" The twins said in unison handing her a butterbeer.

"What's the name of the band?" George asked.

"It's a muggle band called Nirvana." Claire said.

"Then let's make a toast to Nirvana." Fred said.

"Nirvana." The three of them clinked their glasses and took a huge sip from it.

The twins then continued giving out butterbeers. Harry soon came over to them and saw Hermione.

"Did you even come to the match?" Harry asked her.

"Of course I did," Hermione said, not looking up. "And I'm very glad we won, and I think you did really well, but I need to read this by Monday."

"Come on, Hermione, come and have some food," Harry said, looking over at Ron and wondering whether he was in a good enough mood to bury the hatchet.

"I can't, Harry. I've still got four hundred and twenty-two pages to read!" Hermione said, now sounding slightly hysterical. "Anyway…" She glanced over at Ron too. "_He_ doesn't want me to join in."

There was no arguing with this, as Ron chose that moment to say loudly, "If Scabbers hadn't just been eaten, he could have had some of those Fudge Flies. He used to really like them—"

Hermione burst into tears. Before Claire or Harry could say or do anything, she tucked the enormous book under her arm, and, still sobbing, ran toward the staircase to the girls' dormitories and out of sight. Claire was infuriated.

"What is your problem?" Claire snapped. "Can't you give her a break?"

"No," Ron said flatly. "If she just acted like she was sorry— but she'll never admit she's wrong, Hermione. She's still acting like Scabbers has gone on vacation or something."

"Well, if you were so concerned about Scabbers why didn't you keep a closer eye on him. You knew Hermione's cat wanted to eat him and yet you didn't take any precautions to keep it from happening. Hermione's not the only one to blame in this situation and she's not the only one who's wrong either." Claire stalked upstairs to the girls' dormitory.

Claire saw Hermione crying as she walked in. Hermione looked up and wiped a few tears from her eyes.

"I heard what you said Claire. Thank you." Hermione said.

"No problem. That's what friends are for." Claire replied as she sat next to Hermione on her bed. "Don't listen to Ron he's just being a git as usual."

"You can go back to the party. You don't have to stay up here." Hermione said.

"No, I'm good. I'm not in a partying mood anymore." Claire said.

Hermione smiled. "You really are a good friend, Claire."

"I try," Claire shrugged.

* * *

><p>The following morning, Claire and Hermione woke up and saw everyone in the common room huddled around the bulletin board. They noticed Ron and Harry were some of the people crowded around the board.<p>

"Hogsmeade, next weekend!" Ron said. "What d'you reckon?" he added quietly to Harry as they went to sit down.

"I forgot that Hogsmeade was so close." Claire said to herself. "Hermione, what are you doing?"

Hermione started to walk towards Ron and Harry. Claire followed her.

"Well, Filch hasn't done anything about the passage into Honeydukes…." Harry said, even more quietly.

"Harry! You're not going again, are you?" Hermione questioned.

"Can you hear someone talking, Harry?" Ron growled, not looking at Hermione.

"Real mature, Ron." Claire said sarcastically.

"Yes, I am Hermione." Harry said. "Are you going, Claire?"

"Yep," Claire said.

"Are you two hearing yourselves?" Hermione said looking from Claire to Harry. "You both are sneaking out again? What if this time Black gets to you? What will you do then? It's not safe there!"

"Hermione," Claire began. "I'm sorry to say this but if Black broke into Hogwarts then it's not safe here either. Especially when most of the school won't be here. At least at Hogsmeade there'll be a lot of people."

"Claire, Harry if you two go into Hogsmeade again…I'll tell Professor McGonagall about that map! I mean it!" Hermione said.

"So now you're trying to get them expelled!" Ron said furiously. "Haven't you done enough damage this year?"

Claire glared at Ron. Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but with a soft hiss, Crookshanks leapt onto the table in front of Harry and Ron. Hermione took one frightened look at the expression on Ron's face, gathered up Crookshanks, and hurried away toward the girls' dormitories.

"Ron, you could've been a bit nicer." Claire said.

Ron ignored her. He continued talking as though there had been no interruption. "Good thing you're going. I can show you Zonko's this time."

"Okay," Harry said. "But this time I'm taking the Invisibility Cloak."

* * *

><p>The day of Hogsmeade soon came and Claire was getting ready for her date with Jason.<p>

"Claire, I can't believe you're going!" Hermione scolded. "You know it's dangerous."

"A lot of things in life are dangerous, Hermione. Learn to live a little." Claire said, as she pulled out a long-sleeved green t-shirt, a hooded black jacket, and a pair of jeans from her trunk. "Besides I have a date and I can't miss it."

"You're going on a date with Saxton?" Hermione questioned. "Claire, if you go I'm telling Professor McGonagall about that map."

"Yep," Claire said as she changed. "Now, you and I both know you're not going to tell Professor McGonagall about the map."

"How do you know?" Hermione said.

"Because you wouldn't." Claire said. "I'll see you later."

"I still don't approve of your choice!" Claire heard Hermione say as she walked down into the common room.

Claire went down to breakfast and ate with Harry and Ron.

"Wait until you two see Zonko's," Ron said as he stuffed his face with sausages. "It's incredible."

"Actually," Claire began. "I was going to explore Hogsmeade by myself."

"Why?" Ron asked suspicious.

Claire shrugged. "Just wanted to."

"But you can't be seen." Harry said. "That's why I brought the invisibility cloak."

"Don't you worry I won't be spotted." Claire said. "When you grow up with Fred and George you learn some things about not wanting to be seen. Especially when you don't want someone to see you setting up a prank."

After breakfast, Claire and Harry walked Ron to the entrance hall.

"See you later!" Harry said.

Ron grinned and winked at them. Claire and Harry then went back up the marble steps. They put on the invisibility cloak and followed the map to the Honeydukes cellar entrance. They entered Honeydukes and spotted Ron. Claire came out from underneath the cloak.

"I'll see you two later," Claire left them and snuck outside to the front of Honeydukes.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up," Claire turned around and saw Jason.

"Well, under the circumstances, I had to be very careful about not getting caught." Claire said.

"That's right," Jason said. "I forgot about that. You know we could of had our date back at the castle."

"Where would the fun in that be then?" Claire teased. "C'mon let's get out of here before someone recognizes me."

"I know a place where we can go." Jason said.

They walked to a place called the Hog's Head. Jason held the door open for her and they walked in and sat at a table.

"No one ever comes here," Jason said. "In fact, I don't think anyone even knows it exists."

"I can see why," Claire said. "This place is pretty run down and it's hardly noticeably from outside."

"At least it's quiet." Jason said.

"Yea," Claire said.

"You two going to order anything or am I going to have to charge you for sitting in my chairs?" A man with grey hair and familiar blue eyes said impatiently.

"We'll have two butterbeers," Jason said.

The man grumbled and brought them back the butterbeers. "That'll be four sickles."

Jason handed him the money and he walked away. They both took a sip of butterbeer.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Jason asked.

Claire shrugged. "Well, I remember Hermione told me about this muggle game called 20-answers, no I think it was called 20-questions and it's good for getting to know people."

"How do you play?" Jason asked.

"I guess we start off with asking a question we want the answer to about the other person." Claire said.

"You go first. You seem to know how to play it more than I do." Jason replied.

"Alright," Claire thought for a moment. "What was it like growing up?"

"Well, I grew up in London." Jason began. "I was adopted by a magical family and my adoptive parents sent me to Durmstrung Institute and then they decided last year to send me here. Now, what about your life growing up?"

"I grew up in Ottery St. Catchpole with the Weasleys. My parents left me with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley when I was a baby because they were my godparents. There were ten of us growing up under one roof. It was difficult but it was home." Claire said. "Did you have any siblings?"

"No, I was a single child." Jason said. "Do you know why your parents left you?"

Claire shook her head. "Nope. I'm beginning to think I never will. What about your real parents?"

"They died, at least that's what it says on my papers." Jason said. He was quiet for a moment and then spoke. "What's your favorite color?"

"Well, that was random." Claire laughed.

Jason smiled. "You know, you have a really nice laugh."

"Thank you, kind sir," Claire said. "And you have a nice smile."

"Do you want to go for a walk before you head back to the castle?" Jason asked.

"Sure," They walked out the door.

"What were you two doing in there?" They both turned around and they saw a furious Ron and Claire could only guess that Harry was under the invisibility cloak as she saw a pair of shoe imprints next to Ron.

"It's none of your business, Ron," Claire said. "C'mon, Jason."

"Were you two snogging?" Ron questioned.

"As I said before Ron, it's none of your business so bud off!" Claire was growing impatient.

"It is my business when it concerns you! You're like a sister to me and I don't think Saxton is good guy for you!" Ron shouted.

"You know, I'm right here," Jason said, earning him a glare from both Ron and Claire. "I'm just going to leave."

Jason awkwardly left them.

"What gives you the right to say who is and isn't right for me Ron?" Claire exclaimed. "You're not my parent!"

"Of course I'm not, they're gone!" Ron didn't realize what he'd said until after he said it.

Claire had conflicting emotions running through her. She felt a bit hurt, but mostly she felt angry. She just wanted to get back to the castle.

"I didn't mean it, Claire—" Ron stuttered.

"Whatever, just don't talk to me, Ron," Claire turned her back on him and walked to Honeydukes.

She took the secret passageway back to the castle. Claire was glad that she remembered the way back. She had made it to the portrait without getting caught. Just as she was about to say the password, she noticed that the portrait was open. Suddenly, a familiar white rat ran out.

"Scabbers?" Claire said, looking at the rat curiously. "I thought you were dead."

She heard the portrait creak open more and she turned around. The last thing she saw was Sirius Black pointing his wand at her.

* * *

><p><em>What did you think? Claire went on her first date. You experienced a couple of sappy moments and then I leave off with a cliffhanger. This chapter was fun to write and I hope you all enjoyed it. Thank you to the new followers: demon19027 and DalekEmperorUltron.<em>

_Also, thank you to all the fans who support this story and review. It means the world to me! Harry Potter and Claire Smith Adventures Series has over a total of 7,593 views and 170 reviews. This makes me feel so accomplished as a writer and I owe it all to you guys/girls! So continue supporting Until The Very End!_

_Reply to Reviews:_

_Natekleh: Claire was sort of indifferent however she was more on Hermione's side just because of the way Ron treated Hermione._

_aunknowntimelord: Jason is connected to the master and the tenth doctor hasn't regenerated yet._

_Rainpelt the Doctor: Good guess!_

_NicoleR85: I'll consider it but right now it's hard to imagine anything beyond the seven books at the moment. I would love to do it but just like doing Carina/Doctor meeting story and their adventures together it wouldn't happen until after the seven books are finished. If I decide to do them they'd be written when I'm writing the Epilogue. _

_TENZA: Glad chapter 13 made up for chapter 12. I'm counting down the chapters until all is revealed._

_Rukia-chappy: Well, here's a new chapter!_


	15. The Quidditch Cup Final

Chapter 15: The Quidditch Cup Final

"She's awake!" That was the first thing Claire heard as she woke up. She opened her eyes to see Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Ginny, Percy, Jason, Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore surrounding her. Claire took note of how she was in a bed and assumed she was in the hospital wing.

"Now, that you're up I'll go owl mum to say you're alright," Percy said in his usual know-it-all voice as he left the hospital wing.

"What the heck happened?" Claire said, as she sat up. "Why am I in the infirmary?"

"Ms. Smith," Professor McGonagall began. "Do you recall anything before you were knocked out?"

The image of Sirius Black pointing his wand towards her entered her mind.

"Yes," Claire said, trying to shake the fear she felt in that moment.

"Do you remember who did this to you?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Sirius Black," Everyone gasped as Claire said the name. Professor McGonagall paled and turned to Dumbledore.

"We must increase security here, Professor Dumbledore." Professor McGonagall said in a slightly panicked tone. "It is only luck so far that has prevented Ms. Smith from a fate of death. She was fortunate enough that he did not perform the killing curse."

"You're right, Professor McGonagall," Dumbledore agreed. "Tell the staff to meet me in my office. We will discuss our security measures."

Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore left the hospital wing, leaving the Weasleys, Jason, Harry and Hermione with Claire.

"Oh, Claire!" Hermione began crying and practically strangled Claire in a hug. "You could've been killed!"

"Loosen your grip, Hermione," Ron said. "or you'll strangle her to death."

"Sorry," Hermione pulled away from the hug.

"Are you alright?" Ginny asked.

"Just peachy," Claire muttered.

"Glad to see you're alright!" The twins teased, each patting one of her shoulders.

"What exactly happened when you encountered Black?" Jason asked.

Ginny and the twins seemed to have just noticed Jason and said, "Who are you?"

Ron and Harry scowled. "Claire's boyfriend."

"What?!"The twins seemed furious while Ginny seemed to be happy.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ginny said. "How long have you two been going out?"

"Is this really the most important thing right now?" Hermione said. "What about the fact that Claire was just attacked by Black?"

Claire was glad Hermione had said something because she wasn't ready to tell them about Jason and honestly Jason was the last thing on her mind at the moment.

"But—" The twins stopped talking as they caught look of Hermione's glare.

"Right, uh, Black." George said.

"Yea, tell us what happened." Fred said.

"Well, after I was rudely interrupted by Ron at Hogsmeade," Claire glared at Ron. "I headed back to the castle. I was about to go into Gryffindor Tower when I noticed the portrait was already opened and a white rat came out of it. You know, I think it was your rat Ron. It definitely looked like it. Anyway, I heard the portrait creak open more and when I turned around I saw Sirius Black and he was pointing his wand at me. And then I woke up here in the hospital wing."

"Well, the important thing is that Black didn't seriously injure you," Hermione said.

"Or kill you." The twins said in unison.

"That too." Hermione said.

Claire then thought about something. Why hadn't Black killed her? It was the perfect opportunity for him. No one was around and he was standing right in front of her. Something seemed off about Black to Claire and she was going to find out what that was.

Madam Pomfrey came over to Claire at that moment and told the others to wait outside the hospital wing because Claire would be leaving after she evaluated her condition. Madam Pomfrey checked Claire to make sure there wasn't anything wrong with her.

"Well, Ms. Smith," Madam Pomfrey began. "You're free to go. It seems the only harm Black did was knocking you unconscious. However, if you begin to feel sick or odd come back."

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey." Claire thanked her as she got out of bed.

"No problem," Madam Pomfrey said.

Just as Claire walked out of the infirmary she heard the twins talking to Jason.

"Why do you want to be with Claire?" Fred asked Jason.

"I—" Jason was cut off.

"What are you planning?" George said.

"I'm not—" Jason was cut off again.

"Do you actually have feelings for her or are you messing with her?" Fred said.

"Ye—" Jason seemed to be getting frustrated that he didn't get a chance to talk.

"When did you—?"

"Would you two stop pestering him?" Claire said. "Jason, can I speak with you alone?"

Claire and Jason moved far enough away from them so they could talk. However, this didn't stop the twins, Ron, Harry, Ginny, and Hermione from eavesdropping.

"I'm sorry about them." Claire began.

"It's alright." Jason said. "They're just looking out for you."

"Oh, is that what it's called?" Claire said. "You sure they're not just trying to bud their way into my life?"

"Maybe it's both." Jason replied. "Goes to show that they just care about you. Just like me."

Claire blushed slightly. She really needed to figure out how to stop blushing. "I care about you too, Jason."

"So, I take it you enjoyed our date." Jason teased.

Claire rolled her eyes. "More like tolerated it."

"I don't know. You seemed to have a good time." Jason said. "Is there a possibility that you'd say yes to another one."

"Hm, I don't know," Claire said. "I guess. However, let's have it here at Hogwarts."

Jason smiled. "Alright. Well, I'd better go. Your friends glares' are a bit uneasy."

"Bye, Jason." Claire said.

Jason left and Claire walked over to the others. She glared at the twins.

"Was that really necessary?" Claire said.

"Whatever do you mean Claire-bear?" The twins said in unison in an innocent voice.

Claire narrowed her eyes. "You know exactly what I mean and don't call me that!"

"Oh, look at the time, Fred," George said glancing at his watch-less wrist. "We're late."

"You're right, George!" Fred said and before Claire could say anything they disappeared.

"I'm going back to my dorm," Ginny said. "I want all the details about Jason later."

Claire, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were the only ones left.

"So, are you three on good terms now?" Claire asked, looking specifically between Ron and Hermione.

Hermione seemed to have a solemn look on her face. "Yes, but we have bad news, Claire."

"What about?" Claire asked.

"It's Hagrid." Harry said.

"What about him?" Claire questioned.

"Hagrid lost his case." Ron said. "Buckbeak is going to be executed."

Claire was shocked and angry. "Please tell me you're joking."

They didn't say anything.

"But they can't do this! Buckbeak is innocent! Malfoy provoked the poor creature! It's all Malfoy's big fat ego's fault!" Claire exclaimed.

"We don't disagree with you, Claire," Harry said.

"But there's nothing we can do now." Hermione said, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Have you talked to Hagrid yet?" Claire asked.

They shook their heads.

"Well, let's go then." Claire said walking towards the entrance hall.

"But Claire you were just attacked," Hermione said.

Claire turned around. "So, I'm completely fine and besides Hagrid needs us right now."

They walked to the entrance hall and were about to head out the front doors when Professor McGonagall saw them.

"Just where do you four think you're going?" She asked sternly.

"We were just going to visit Hagrid, Professor McGonagall." Claire answered.

"I'm sorry but you'll all have to wait until you have class with him. We've increased our safety measures after your attack Ms. Smith. It is not safe to go out there alone." Professor McGonagall said.

"But Professor, Buckbeak is going to be executed and we need to make sure Hagrid's ok." Hermione said.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Granger," Professor McGonagall said in a sympathetic tone. "But as I have said it is dangerous and you'll have to wait until you have his class to talk to him. This is the last I will here of the subject. Now, run along to the Great Hall dinner is about to start."

The next day at Care of Magical Creatures they were able to talk to Hagrid. Hagrid seemed to be numb with shock at the verdict.

"S'all my fault. Got all tongue-tied. They was all sittin' there in black robes an' I kep' droppin' me notes, Claire and Hermione. An' then Lucius Malfoy stood up an' said his bit, and the Committee jus' did exac'ly what he told 'em….."

"There's still the appeal!" Ron said fiercely. "Don't give up yet, we're working on it!"

They were walking back up to the castle with the rest of the class. Ahead they could see Malfoy, who was walking with Crabbe and Goyle, and kept looking back, laughing derisively.

"S'no good, Ron," Hagrid said sadly as they reached the castle steps. "The Committee's in Lucius Malfoy's pocket. I'm jus' gonna make sure the rest o' Beaky's time is the happiest he's ever had. I owe him that…."

Hagrid turned around and hurried back toward his cabin, his face buried in his handkerchief. Claire felt sympathy for the poor giant.

"Look at his blubber!"

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had been standing just inside the castle doors, listening.

"Have you ever seen anything quite as pathetic?" Malfoy said. "And he's supposed to be our teacher!"

Claire, Harry, and Ron all made furious moves toward Malfoy, but Hermione got there first—SMACK!

She had punched Malfoy on the nose with all the strength she could muster. Malfoy staggered. Claire, Harry, Ron, Crabbe, and Goyle stood flabbergasted as Hermione raised her hand again.

"Don't you _dare_ call Hagrid pathetic, you foul—you evil—"

"Hermione!" Ron said weakly, and he tried to grab her hand as she swung it back.

"Get _off,_ Ron!"

Hermione pulled out her wand. Malfoy stepped backward. Crabbe and Goyle looked at him for instructions, thoroughly bewildered.

"C'mon," Malfoy muttered, and in a moment, all three of them had disappeared into the passageway to the dungeons.

_"Hermione!"_ Ron said again, sounding both stunned and impressed.

"You—You just _punched_ Malfoy!" Claire said in shock.

"Harry, you better beat him in the Quidditch final!" Hermione said shrilly. "You just better had, because I can't stand it if Slytherin wins!"

"We're due in Charms," Ron said, still goggling at Hermione. "We'd better go."

They hurried up the marble staircase toward Professor Flitwick's classroom.

"You're late!" Professor Flitwick said reprovingly as Harry opened the classroom door. "Come along, quickly, wands out, we're experimenting with Cheering Charms today, we've already divided into pairs—"

Claire, Harry, and Ron hurried to a desk at the back and opened their bags. Ron looked behind him.

"Where's Hermione gone?"

Harry and Claire looked around too. Hermione hadn't entered the classroom, yet Harry knew she had been right next to him when he had opened the door.

"That's weird," Harry said, staring at Ron.

"I think I saw her head to the restroom," Claire said.

But Hermione didn't turn up all lesson.

"She could've done with a Cheering Charm on her too," Ron said as they left the class for lunch, all grinning broadly— the Cheering Charms had left them with a feeling of great contentment.

Hermione wasn't at lunch either. By the time they'd finished desert, the after-effects of the Cheering Charm were wearing off, and they started to get slightly worried.

"You don't think Malfoy did something to her?" Ron said anxiously as they hurried upstairs toward Gryffindor Tower.

"If he did the injury Buckbeak gave him will be like a scratch when I'm through with him." Claire said.

They passed the security trolls and gave that Fat Lady the password (she had come back after Claire's attack), and scrambled through the portrait hole into the common room.

Hermione was sitting at a table, fast asleep, her head resting on an open Arithmancy book. They went to sit down by her. Harry prodded her awake.

"Wh—what?" Hermione said, waking with a start and staring wildly around. "Is it time to go? W-which lesson have we got now?"

"Divination, but it's not for twenty minutes," Claire said. "Hermione, why didn't you come to Charms?"

"What? Oh, no!" Hermione squeaked. "I forgot to go to Charms!"

"But how could you forget?" Harry said. "You were with us till we were right outside the classroom!"

"I don't believe it!" Hermione wailed. "Was Professor Flitwick angry? Oh, it was Malfoy, I was thinking about him and I lost track of things!"

"You know what, Hermione?" Ron said, looking down at the enormous Arithmancy book Hermione had been using as a pillow. "I reckon you're cracking up. You're trying to do too much."

"No, I'm not!" Hermione said, brushing her hair out of her eyes and starting hopelessly around for her bag. "I just made a mistake, that's all! I'd better go and see Professor Flitwick and say sorry….I'll see you in Divination!"

Hermione joined them at the foot of the ladder to Professor Trelawney's classroom twenty minutes later, looking extremely harassed.

"I can't believe I missed Cheering Charms! And I bet they come up in our exams; Professor Flitwick hinted they might!"

"I'll teach it to you later, Hermione," Claire said.

Hermione smiled appreciatively towards Claire and then they climbed the ladder into the dim, stifling tower room. Glowing on every little table was a crystal ball full of pearly white mist. Claire, Harry, Ron and Hermione sat down together at the same rickety table.

"I thought we weren't starting crystal balls until next term," Ron muttered, casting a wary eye around for Professor Trelawney, in case she was lurking nearby.

"Don't complain, this means we've finished palmistry," Claire said. "Merlin knows what would've happened had she kept filching when she looked at my hands."

"Good day to you!" the familiar, misty voice of Professor Trelawney said. She made her usual dramatic entrance out of the shadows as Claire rolled her eyes.

"I have decided to introduce the crystal ball a little earlier than I had planned," Professor Trelawney said, sitting with her back to the fire and gazing around. "The fates have informed me that your examination in June will concern the Orb, and I am anxious to give you sufficient practice."

Hermione snorted.

"Well, honestly…'the fates have informed her'….who sets the exam? She does! What an amazing prediction!" she said, not troubling to keep her voice low. Claire, Harry, and Ron choked back laughs.

It was hard to tell whether Professor Trelawney had heard them, as her face was hidden in shadow. She continued, however, as though she had not.

"Crystal gazing is a particularly refined art," she said dreamily. "I do not expect any of you to See when first you peer into the Orb's infinitive depths. We shall start by practicing relaxing the conscious mind and external eyes"—Ron began to snigger uncontrollably and had to stuff his fist in his mouth to stifle the noise—"so as to clear the Inner Eye and the superconscious. Perhaps, if we are lucky, some of you will See before the end of the class."

And so they began. Claire felt extremely foolish having to stare at the orb.

"Seen anything yet?" Harry asked them after a quarter of an hour's quiet crystal gazing.

"Yeah, there's a burn on this table," Ron said, pointing. "Someone's spilled their candle."

"This is such a waste of time," Hermione hissed. "I could be practicing something useful. I could be catching up on Cheering Charms—"

Professor Trelawney rustled past.

"Would anyone like me to help them interpret the shadowy portents within their Orb?" she murmured over the clinking of her bangles.

"I don't need help," Ron whispered. "It's obvious what this means. There's going to be loads of fog tonight."

Claire, Harry, and Hermione burst out laughing.

"Now, really!" Professor Trelawney said as everyone's heads turned in their direction. "You are disturbing the clairvoyant vibrations!" She approached their table and peered into their crystal ball.

"There is something here!" Professor Trelawney whispered, lowering her face to the ball, so that it was reflecting twice in her glasses. "Something moving…..but what is it?"

"My dears….." Professor Trelawney breathed, gazing up at Claire and Harry. "It is here, plainer than ever before…..my dears, stalking toward you, growing ever closer…..the Gr—"

"Oh, for_ goodness'_ sake!" Hermione said loudly. "Not that ridiculous Grim _again_!"

Professor Trelawney raised her enormous eyes to Hermione's face. Professor Trelawney stood up, surveying Hermione with unmistakeable anger.

"I am sorry to say that from the moment you have arrived in this class, my dear, it has been apparent that you do not have what the noble art of Divination requires. Indeed, I don't remember ever meeting a student whose mind was so hopelessly mundane."

Oh, she went there. Claire thought. Hermione's not going to be happy.

"Fine!" Hermione said suddenly, getting up and cramming Unfogging the Future back into her bag. "Fine!" she repeated, swinging the bag over her shoulder and almost knocking Ron off his chair. "I give up! I'm leaving!"

And to the whole class's amazement, Hermione strode over to the trapdoor, kicked it open, and climbed down the ladder out of sight. It took the class a few minutes to settle down.

"Oooooo!" Lavender said suddenly, making everyone start. "Ooooooo, Professor Trelawney, I've just remembered! You saw her leaving, didn't you? Didn't you, Professor?_ 'Around Easter, one of our number will leave us forever!'_ You said it ages ago, Professor!"

Professor Trelawney gave her a dewy smile.

"Yes, my dear, I did indeed know that Miss Granger would be leaving us. One hopes, however, that one might have mistaken the Signs…The Inner Eye can be a burden, you know….."

"Some day Hermione's having, eh?" Ron muttered to Claire and Harry, looking awed.

"I'll say," Claire agreed. "First punching Malfoy, then disrespecting a teacher. What's next?"

The Easter holidays were not exactly relaxing. The third years had never had so much homework. Neville Longbottom seemed close to a nervous collapse, and he wasn't the only one.

"Call this a holiday!" Seamus Finnigan roared at the common room one afternoon. "The exams are ages away, what're they playing at?"

But nobody had as much to do as Hermione. Claire was getting very concerned with how much work Hermione was assigned and how tired she looked. Claire had offered to do some of it but Hermione was completely against it.

Ron had taken over responsibility for Buckbeak's appeal. Claire would help him whenever she had a chance. Harry, meanwhile, was juggling not only his massive stack of homework but also Quidditch practice every day. Wood was determined to win the Quidditch final because Gryffindor hadn't won the Quidditch cup since Charlie Weasley (Ron's second oldest brother) had been Seeker.

All usual pursuits were abandoned in the Gryffindor common room the night before the match. Even Hermione had put down her books.

"I can't work. I can't concentrate." she said nervously.

There was a great deal of noise. Fred and George were dealing with the pressure by being louder and more exuberant than ever. Oliver Wood was crouched over a model of a Quidditch field in the corner, prodding little figures across it with his wand and muttering to himself. Angelia, Alicia, and Katie were laughing at Fred's and George's jokes. Harry was sitting with Ron and Hermione, trying to forget about the game and also the horrible sensation he felt in his stomach. Harry then noticed something.

"Where's Claire?" Harry asked them.

"Oh, she's on her date with Jason." Hermione said and Ron frowned.

Harry felt a wave of jealously wash over him. "Oh. When did she leave?"

"About an hour ago. She's due back any—"

Just then the portrait to the common room opened revealing Claire. She spotted them and walked over to them. Harry noticed she seemed happier than usual.

"Hey!" Claire greeted them with a smile. "So, you finally decided to take a break, Hermione?"

"Only because it's extremely noisy at the moment." Hermione said. "How'd your date go?"

Harry was glad when Wood stood up and yelled, "Team! Bed!"

"Well, I have to go." Harry said, standing up. "Coming Ron?"

"Yea," Ron and Harry went upstairs to the boys dorm.

"Night," Claire and Hermione said to them as they left.

"I think they have the right idea about sleep." Hermione said. "I'm exhausted."

"Me too." Claire said and they both headed upstairs.

The next morning, Claire and Hermione went to breakfast. It was the day of the Quidditch final. Harry soon came down to breakfast with Ron and they ate together. Wood soon told the Quidditch team it was time to head to the field.

"Good luck, Harry," Claire said. "Knock those Slytherins off their brooms."

"Isn't Jason a Slytherin?" Ron questioned.

"You're point? Just because I'm dating a Slytherin doesn't mean I want them to win." Claire said.

"Good luck, Harry!" Cho Chang called.

Claire, Hermione, Ron, and Harry turned to the Ravenclaw table and saw Cho Chang waving to Harry. Claire suddenly felt like frowing at the girl but had no clue why. She ignored the feeling and continued eating her breakfast as Wood escorted the Gryffindor Quidditch team out to the field.

"We should get going if we're going to get good seats," Ron said.

They walked out to the stands. They found a good spot and waited as the stands began to fill up.

"Mind if I sit here?" Claire, who was sitting down, looked up and saw her boyfriend Jason dressed in red and gold.

Claire smiled at him. "Sure. Love your outfit."

"What is he doing here? He's a Slytherin." Ron questioned glaring at Jason.

_"Ron,"_ Hermione said.

"I'm supporting Gryffindor." Jason said. "I may be in Slytherin, but I know a good Quidditch team when I see one and Gryffindor is a million times better than Slytherin could ever hope to be."

"You got that right," Ron said. "Finally, a Slytherin who sees sense."

"So, um, Jason is it?" Hermione began. "What's it like in Slytherin house?"

Jason shrugged. "Not all it's cracked up to be. It's really cold in the dungeons and the people there are full of themselves."

"And you're not?" Claire scoffed.

"Never said I wasn't." Jason said.

Claire rolled her eyes.

"I think the game's about to start." Jason said, pointing to the Gryffindor Quidditch team walking out on the field.

"And here are the Gryffindors!" Lee Jordan yelled, who was commentating as usual. "Potter, Bell, Johnson, Spinnet, Weasley, Weasley, and Wood. Widely acknowledged as the best team Hogwarts has seen in a good few years—"

Lee's comments were drowned out by a tide of "boos" from the Slytherin end.

"And here comes the Slytherin team, led by Captain Flint. He's made some changes in the lineup and seems to be going for size rather than skill—"

There were more boos from the Slytherin crowd.

"Captains, shake hands!" Madam Hooch yelled.

Flint and Wood approached each other and grasped each other's hand very tightly; it looked as though each was trying got break the other's fingers.

"Mount your brooms!" Madam Hooch said. "Three….two…one…."

The sound of her whistle was lost in the roar from the crowd as fourteen brooms rose in the air and the game commenced.

"And it's Gryffindor in possession, Alicia Spinnet of Gryffindor with the Quaffle, heading straight for the Slytherin goal posts, looking goof, Alicia! Argh, no—Quaffle intercepted by Warrington, Warrington of Slytherin tearing up the field—WHAM!— nice Buldger work there by George Weasley, Warrington drops the Quaffle, it's caught by—Johnson, Gryffindor back in possession, come on, Angelina—nice swerve around Montague—duck, Angelina, that's a Buldger!—SHE SCORES! TEN-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"

Angelina punched the air as she soared around the end of the field; the sea of scarlet below was screaming its delight—

"OUCH!"

Angelina was nearly thrown from her broom as Marcus Flint went smashing into her.

"Penalty!" Claire yelled. "He did that on purpose!"

"Sorry!" Flint said as the crowd below booed. "Sorry, didn't see her!"

A moment later, Fred Weasley chucked his Beater's club at the back of Flint's head. Flint's nose smashed into the handle of his broom and began to bleed.

"That will do!" Madam Hooch shrieked, zooming between them. "Penalty shot to Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack on their Chaser! Penalty shot to Slytherin for deliberate damage to their Chaser!"

"Come off it, Miss!" Fred howled, but Madam Hooch blew her whistle and Alicia flew forward to take the penalty.

"Come on, Alicia!" Lee yelled. "YES! SHE'S BEATEN THE KEEPER! TWENTY-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!

Flint, still bleeding, flew to take the Slytherin penalty. Wood was hovering in front of the Gryffindor goal posts, his jaw clenched.

"'Course, Wood's a superb Keeper!" Lee said. "Superb! Very difficult to pass—very difficult indeed—YES! I DON'T BELIEVE IT! HE'S SAVED IT!"

The game continued as Lee did his commentary.

"Gryffindor in possession, no, Slytherin in possession—no!—Gryffindor back in possession and it's Katie Bell, Katie Bell for Gryffindor with the Quaffle, she's streaking up the field—THAT WAS DELIBERATE!"

Montague, a Slytherin Chaser, had swerved in front of Katie, and instead of seizing the Quaffle had grabbed her head. Katie cartwheeled in the air, managed to stay on her broom, but dropped the Quaffle. Madam Hooch blew her whistle and Katie took the penatly shot.

"THIRTY-ZERO! TAKE THAT, YOU DIRTY, CHEATING—"

"Jordan, if you can't commentate in an unbiased way—!"

"I'm telling it like it is, Professor!"

Soon the score was eighty-ten with Gryffindor in the lead. Claire noticed that Harry spotted the Snitch. Harry dove and sped up and then pulled out from his dive, his hand in the air, and the stadium exploded.

"He did it!" Claire exclaimed.

"We won the cup!" Ron yelled.

Ron and Hermione began to run to the field. Claire turned to Jason.

"Go ahead," Jason said. "I'll see you later."

Claire smiled and she raced down to the field and found Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"You were incredible, Harry!" Claire praised him. "You won the cup!"

Claire hugged Harry and, not thinking, kissed his cheek. Claire didn't realize what she had done, but Harry certainly had. He felt a wave electricity run through his body. He was in shock for a few seconds until Wood handed him the cup. It was in that moment Harry felt he could produce the world's biggest Patronus.

* * *

><p><em>I'm extremely happy and appreciative that I've had over 100 reviews on this story. Thank you all so much for reviewing it makes this all worth while. Thank you to the new followers: Caspermoose, Moony Mercier, Silverbird22, WhovianGeronmio, and Cerulean F. Revelle.<em>

_Reply to Reviews: _

_Natekleh: It's her uncle. _

_Smiley Girl: 1) You'll find out in the next few chapters. 2) Yes, because she told them in this chapter. 3) Nope. 4) I'm not sure. That's a good question. Maybe he's a pessimist. 5) I want this to be a surprise. You won't expect it, I'll tell you that much. 6) I'm honored that you consider my series as one of your favorites. It makes my day when I __receive reviews like that._

_Rainpelt the Doctor: Unfortunately, the back story won't come until later._

_NicoleR85: Here's the update!_

_Teckie De Cool: Thank you! Your review made my day!_

_TENZA: Glad you enjoyed the last chapter._

_nerdfighter1309: Yep, for the plot I have in mind at the moment he is._

_Guest: Thank you!_

_Ghostwriter71: Yea, I never did like Cho's character. Don't know why though. She really wasn't that important in my opinion. I feel like Ron and Hermione always liked each other since they always fought. Remember that saying if a boy fights with a girl then he likes her or something along those lines? Well, that's what I think about Hermione and Ron's relationship. But I do see your point of view because that's what I thought originally._

_auknowntimelord: yes_

_Rukia-Chappy: I know but that's how he's portrayed in the books and in the movies. He's very protective over his family, friends, and his sister. _

_HELLO-A: Thank you! By the way are you referencing Pretty Little Liars by signing -A or are you just doing that for fun? _

_Moony Mercier: Thank you! _

**_I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER OR DOCTOR WHO ONLY CLAIRE SMITH AND JASON SAXTON!_**


	16. The Seer's Prediction

Chapter 16: The Seer's Prediction

Harry's euphoria at finally winning the Quidditch Cup lasted at least a week. Even the weather seemed to be celebrating; as June approached, the days became cloudless, and all anybody felt like doing was strolling the grounds and flopping down on the grass with several pints of iced pumpkin juice, or watching the giant squid propel itself dreamily across the surface of the lake.

But they couldn't. Exams were nearly upon them, and instead of lazing around outside, the students were forced to remain inside the castle, trying to bully their brains into concentrating while enticing wafts of summer air drifted through the windows. Even Fred and George had been spotted working; they were about to take their O.W.L.s (Ordinary Wizarding Levels). Percy was getting ready to take his N.E.W.T.s (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests), the highest qualification Hogwarts offered. As Percy hoped to enter the Ministry of Magic, he needed top grades. Because of this Percy was on edge and would give serve punishments to anybody who disturbed the quiet of the common room in the evenings. The only other person who seemed more anxious than Percy was Hermione.

Harry and Ron had given up asking her how she was managing to attend several classes at once. They suspected Claire knew something about the subject because whenever they brought it up Claire went quiet. However, they couldn't restrain themselves when they saw the exam schedule Hermione had drawn up for herself. The first column read:

**_Monday_**

**_9 o' clock Arithmancy_**

**_9 o' clock Transfiguration_**

**_Lunch_**

**_1 o' clock Charms_**

**_1 o' clock Ancient Runes_**

"Hermione?" Ron said cautiously, because she was liable to explode when interrupted nowadays. "Er—are you sure you've copied down these times right?"

"What?" Hermione snapped, picking the exam schedule up and examining it. "Yes, of course I have."

"Is there any point asking how you're going to sit for two exams at once?" Harry said.

"No," Hermione said shortly. "Have you seen my copy of _Numerology and Gramatica_?"

"Oh, yeah, I borrowed it for a bit of bedtime reading," Ron said, but very quietly.

"You read a book?" Claire teased him earning a glare in return.

Just then, there was a rustle at the window and Hedwig fluttered through it, a note clutched tight in her beak.

"It's from Hagrid," Harry said, ripping the note open. "Buckbeak's appeal— it's set for the sixth."

"That's the day we finish our exams," Hermione said, still looking for her Arithmancy book.

Claire spotted the book and handed it to Hermione who thanked her gratefully.

"And they're coming up here to do it," Harry said, still reading from the letter. "Someone from the Ministry of Magic and—and an executioner."

Hermione looked up, startled.

"They're bringing the executioner to the appeal!"

"They're not even going to consider the appeal." Claire said, frustrated.

"They can't!" Ron howled. "I've spent _ages_ reading up on stuff for him; they can't just ignore it all!"

"You're not the only who had to look up stuff." Claire said. "And they can ignore it all when they don't even give a damn about Buckbeak."

"Claire!" Hermione scolded.

"You know it's true Hermione." Claire said. "Like Hagrid said Malfoy's father keeps slipping galleons into the Committee's pockets. The last thing the Committee is worried about is Buckbeak. It's a shame what people will do for money."

Harry couldn't help but agree with Claire. He had a horrible feeling that the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures had its mind made up for it by Mr. Malfoy and he didn't have to think twice that it involved money. Draco, who had been noticeably subdued since Gryffindor's triumph in the Quidditch field, seemed to regain some of his old swagger over the next few days. It seemed from the sneering comments Harry overheard, Malfoy was certain Buckbeak was going to be killed, and seemed thoroughly pleased with himself for bringing it about.

"I swear," Claire muttered one afternoon as they passed a proud-looking Malfoy in the halls. "If I hear him say one more thing about Hagrid and Buckbeak I'm going to feed him to the giant squid."

And the worst thing of all was that the four friends had no time or opportunity to go and see Hagrid, because the strict new security measures had not been lifted.

"We could use your invisibility cloak, Harry," Claire suggested one evening.

"Yea, about that," Harry said sheepishly. "I might have left it by the one-eyed witch."

"You what?" Claire said. "When did that happen?"

"When we went to Hogsmeade." Harry replied. "Malfoy saw me and I had to rush back to the castle before he told one of the Professors. When I got here, I left the cloak next to the one-eyed witch statue because it'd be a dead give-a-way if Malfoy tipped off a teacher. It's a good thing I did too because Snape was around the corner from the statue. Snape began questioning me and told me to empty my pockets. He spotted the map and then Professor Lupin showed up. Professor Lupin said he'd take the map to examine it and before Snape could argue with him Dumbledore appeared telling us about Black's attack on you."

Claire was shocked. "I'm knocked out for a few hours and its as though I missed everything."

So, with no way or time to talk to Hagrid, they focused on preparing for their exams. Exam week soon began and an unnatural hush fell over the castle. The third years emerged from Transfiguration at lunchtime on Monday, comparing results and complaining about the difficulty of the tasks they had been set, which included turning a teapot into a tortoise.

"Do you think I'll get points off for my tortoise looking more like a turtle?" Hermione asked worriedly.

Claire rolled her eyes. "No. I'm sure you'll get full marks. At least your tortoise didn't make a high-pitch whistle when it opened its mouth."

After a hasty lunch, it was straight back upstairs for the Charms exam. Hermione had been right; Cheering Charms were on the exam. Professor Flitwick paired them up and told them to perform the Cheering Charm on one another. Claire had been partnered with Hermione and they both were praised for their charms by Professor Flitwick. After dinner, the students hurried back to their common rooms, not to relax, but to start studying for Care of Magical Creatures, Potions, and Astronomy.

The following morning, Hagrid instructed them what to do for the exam but it was obvious his heart didn't seem to be in it at all. He had provided a large tub of fresh flobberworms for the class, and told them that to pass the test, their flobberworms had to still be alive at the end of one hour. As flobberworms flourished best if left to their own devices, it was the easiest exam any of them had ever taken, and also gave Claire, Harry, Ron, and Hermione plenty of opportunity to speak to Hagrid.

"Beaky's gettin' a bit depressed," Hagrid told them, bending low on the pretense of checking that Harry's flobberworm was still alive. "Bin cooped up too long. But still…..we'll know day after tomorrow—one way or another—"

They had Potions that afternoon, which was an unqualified disaster, except for Claire. Claire was surprised to see that she had actually brewed the Confusing Concoction perfectly and had to restrain herself from laughing at Snape's disappointed that she had brewed it correctly.

Next came Astronomy at midnight, up on the tallest tower; History of Magic on Wednesday morning, and Herbology Wednesday afternoon. All the students felt most of their test anxiety disappear as they realized they had one day left of exams.

Their second (Claire's third) to last exam, on Thursday morning, was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Lupin had compiled the most unusual exam any of them had ever taken; a sort of obstacle course outside in the sun, where they had to wade across a deep paddling pool containing a grindylow, cross a series of potholes full of Red Caps, squish their way across a patch of marsh while ignoring misleading directions from a hinkypunk, then climb into an old trunk and battle with a new boggart.

"Excellent, Harry," Lupin muttered as Harry climbed out of the turn, grinning, "Full marks."

Flushed with his success, Harry hung around to watch Ron, Hermione, and Claire. Ron did very well until he reached the hinkypunk, which successfully confused him into sinking waist-high into the quagmire. Hermione did everything perfectly until she reached the trunk with the boggart in it. After about a minute inside it, she burst out again, screaming.

"Hermione!" Lupin said, startled. "What's the matter?"

"P—P—Professor McGonagall!" Hermione gasped, pointing into the trunk. "Sh—she said I'd failed everything!"

While Hermione recovered from her boggart, Claire emerged from the trunk feeling elated.

"Good work, Claire," Lupin said to her.

"Thanks, Professor," Claire said.

Claire walked over to Claire, Ron, Hermione, and Harry catching sight of Hermione who looked pale and was taking deep breaths.

"You alright, Hermione?" Claire said concerned.

Hermione nodded.

"Was it your boggart?" Claire asked.

Hermione nodded again and then told Claire what her boggart was. Ron seemed to be holding back laughter, but he stopped once he caught Claire's glare. After Hermione had calmed down, they went back to the castle. They stopped abruptly at the sight that met them at the top of the steps.

Cornelius Fudge, sweating slightly in his pinstriped cloak, was standing there staring out at the grounds. He started at the sight of Harry.

"Hello there, Harry!" he said. "Just had an exam, I expect? Nearly finished?"

"Yes," Harry said. Hermione, Claire, and Ron, not being on speaking terms with the Ministry of Magic, hovered awkwardly in the background.

"Lovely day," Fudge said, casting an eye over the lake. "Pity…pity….."

He sighed deeply and looked down at Harry.

"I'm here on an unpleasant mission, Harry. The Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures required a witness to the execution of a mad hippogriff. As I needed to visit Hogwarts to check on the Black situation, I was asked to step in."

"Does that mean the appeal's already happened?" Ron interrupted, stepping forward.

"No, no it's scheduled for this afternoon," Fudge said, looking curiously at Ron.

"Then you might not have to witness an execution at all!" Claire said, stepping forward. "The hippogriff might get off!"

Before Fudge said anything, two wizards came through the castle doors behind him. One was so ancient he appeared to be withering away in front of their eyes; the other was tall and strapping, with a thin black mustache. They gathered they were the representatives of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures, because the very old wizard squinted toward Hagrid's cabin and said in a feeble voice, "Dear, dear, I'm getting too old for this…..Two o'clock, isn't it, Fudge?"

The black-mustached man was fingering something in his belt; Claire looked and saw that he was running one broad thumb along the blade of a shining axe. Ron opened his mouth to say something, but Hermione nudged him hard in the ribs and jerked her head toward the entrance hall.

"Why'd you stop me?" Ron said angrily as they entered the Great Hall for lunch. "Did you see them? They've even got the axe ready! This isn't justice!"

"Ron, your dad works for the Ministry, you can't go saying things like that to his boss!" Hermione said, but she too looked very upset.

"Especially not since your flying car incident last year," Claire said. "And as long as Hagrid keeps his tongue untied and argues his case strongly, they can't execute Buckbeak…."

But Harry could tell Claire didn't really believe what she was saying. While everyone around them seemed to be talking excitedly, Claire, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were lost in worry about Hagrid and Buckbeak.

Harry's and Ron's last exam was Divination; Hermione's, Muggle Studies. Claire on the other hand had both at the same time. Ron and Harry caught glimpse of her schedule and were about to ask her about it when Claire and Hermione left the table. Harry and Ron walked up the marble staircase until they reached the seventh floor. When they reached the seventh floor, they spotted Claire already there sitting on the spiral staircase to Professor Trelawney's classroom with other students, trying to cram in a bit of last-minute studying. They walked over to Claire and sat next to her.

"Aren't you suppose to be at your Muggle Studies exam?" Harry said.

"Already finished it," Claire said, closing her book. "Wasn't too bad. So, you two ready for this exam?"

"Sort of," Harry said. "Why are we all waiting out here?"

"She's seeing us all separately," Neville informed them, who was sitting on the step above them. He had his copt of Unfogging the Future open on his lap at the pages devoted to crystal gazing. "Have you three ever seen anything in a crystal ball?" he asked them unhappily.

"Nope," Ron said in an offhand voice. He kept checking his watch; Harry and Claire knew that he was counting down the time until Buckbeak's appeal started.

"Does my reflection count?" Claire said.

The line of people outside the classroom shortened very slowly. As each person climbed back down the silver ladder, the rest of the class would hiss about what she had asked them. But they all refused to say.

"She says the crystal ball's told her that if I tell you, I'll have a horrible accident!" Neville squeaked as he clambered back down the ladder toward Harry, Claire, and Ron, who had now reached the landing.

"How convenient," Claire said sarcastically.

"You know," Ron began. "I'm starting to think Hermione was right about her"—he jabbed his thumb toward the trapdoor overhead—"she's a right old fraud."

"Ronald Weasley," said the familiar, misty voice from over their heads.

"Have fun," Claire teased Ron earning herself a glare in return.

Ron grimaced at Claire and Harry and climbed the silver ladder out of sight. Claire and Harry were the only ones left to be tested. They settled on the floor.

"I really hope Hagrid kept his head this time," Claire said. "Do you think Buckbeak has a chance?"

"No," Harry said honestly.

"Aren't you just a little ray of sunshine," Claire said. "But I guess you're right. I wish there was something we could do to save Buckbeak."

"Me too," Harry agreed.

Twenty minutes later, Ron's large feet reappeared on the ladder.

"How'd it go?" Harry asked him, standing up.

"Rubbish," Ron said. "Couldn't see a thing, so I made some stuff up. Don't think she was convinced, though…."

"Claire Smith," Professor Trelawney called.

"Let's get this over with," Claire muttered starting to climb the ladder.

As Claire entered the tower room, she noticed it was hotter than ever before. The curtains were closed and the fire was alight. The usual sickly sent wafted through the air making Claire cough as she stumbled through the clutter of chairs and tables to where Professor Trelawney sat waiting for her before a large crystal ball.

"Good day, my dear," she said softly. "If you would kindly gaze into the Orb…..Take your time, now…..then tell me what you see within it….."

Claire bent over the crystal ball and stared as hard as she could, willing it to show her something other than swirling white fog. A few seconds passed and nothing appeared.

"Well?" Professor Trelawney prompted delicately. "What do you see?"

Claire fought back the smartass comment in her head and thought back to what Ron had said. Claire decided to make something up.

"I see a box," Claire said, staring intently at the crystal ball.

"A box?" Professor Trelawney questioned. "What color is it?"

To Claire's amazement, she began to see an outline of a box in the white fog. It began to turn blue and words became to appear on the top of the box. It seemed as though the box was heading towards the sun as there was a yellow light glowing around it.

"It's blue and at the top it says Police Box. I think it's heading toward the sun." Claire couldn't believe what she saw. It was the same box she had seen numerous times in her dreams. Suddenly, the box disappeared and something else appeared.

"The box disappeared and now there's a rat. It looks like Ron's rat Scabbers and its missing a toe? Can't believe I never noticed that. And the rat is wearing a mask. Wait, now the mask is gone and so is the rat. There's a figure in it's place. I can't tell what it is….."

"Marvelous!" Professor Trelawney exclaimed, making Claire jump. "In all my years of teaching at Hogwarts I have never seen a student who shows this much prominence as a Seer. Excellent work, Miss Smith! We're done here."

"Thank you?" Claire said unsure. She climbed down the ladder.

"Did you see anything?" Harry asked.

"I didn't at first and then I started seeing something," Claire said.

"You're kidding." Ron said in disbelief.

"Nope," Claire said.

"What did you see?" Harry asked.

Claire was about to tell him when—

"Harry Potter!"

"Good luck, Harry," Claire said as he disappeared up the ladder.

Ron and Claire waited for Harry.

"I'm going to head to the common room," Ron said.

"Alright, Harry and I will catch up with you when he's finished." Claire said as Ron disappeared.

Harry soon came down.

"Where's Ron?" Harry asked.

"He went to the common room. C'mon let's catch up—" Claire stopped talking as a crystal orb rolled to her feet.

"What the—?" Claire picked up the orb looking at it curiously. "Where did this come from?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know. We should probably return it to Professor Trelawney."

Claire groaned. "Alright, but let's make this quick."

They both climbed the ladder into her classroom. Professor Trelawney was nowhere in sight. They noticed one of the tables was missing an orb so Claire and Harry walked over to it and Claire placed the orb on the stand.

"There. Let's get out of here—" Claire and Harry turned around to see Professor Trelawney, who had reached out and placed a hand on either of their shoulders. Claire and Harry were startled by her sudden appearance.

_**"IT WILL HAPPEN TONIGHT."** _Professor Trelawney said in a loud, harsh voice.

Claire and Harry furrowed their eyebrows.

"What will happen tonight?" Harry asked confused.

But Professor Trelawney didn't seem to hear him. Her eyes started to roll. Claire and Harry stood there in a panic. She looked as though she was about to have some sort of seizure. Professor Trelawney then spoke in the same harsh voice, quite unlike her own:

_**"THE DARK LORD LIES ALONE AND FRIENDLESS, ABANDONED BY HIS FOLLOWERS JUST AS HE WAS ABANDONED IN HIS FIRST LIFE. HIS SERVANT HAS BEEN CHAINED THESE TWELVE YEARS. TONIGHT, BEFORE MIDNIGHT…..THE SERVANT WILL BREAK FREE. HOWEVER, HE WILL BE CAUGHT ONLY TO ESCAPE FROM HIS PRISON AND HE WILL SET OUT TO REJOIN HIS MASTER. THE DARK LORD WILL RISE AGAIN WITH HIS SERVANT'S AID, GREATER AND MORE TERRIBLE THAN EVER HE WAS. WE WILL SEE THE TRUTH BEHIND THE DARK LORD'S ORIGINS. TONIGHT…BEFORE MIDNIGHT…."**_

Professor Trelawney then removed her hands from Claire's and Harry's shoulder before coughing as though something was in her throat. Claire and Harry stood there, staring at her. Then, quite suddenly, Professor Trelawney's head snapped up.

"Oh, dear," she said dreamily. "It must be the heat of the day. Miss Smith, Mr. Potter why are you in my classroom?"

"We were returning one of your orbs," Claire said, her voice slightly shaky. "We'll be leaving now."

Claire and Harry rushed out of the classroom and began walking to the common room.

"What the hell just happened?" Claire said in a panicky tone.

"I don't know," Harry said. "But we have to tell Ron and Hermione."

They dashed into the common room, Professor Trelawney's words still resounding in their heads. They spotted Hermione and Ron and rushed over to them.

"Professor Trelawney," Harry panted, "just told me—"

But he stopped abruptly at the sight of their faces.

"What's wrong?" Claire asked, a bad feeling overcoming her.

"Buckbeak lost," Ron said weakly. "Hagrid's just sent this."

Ron handed the note to Claire and Harry. They read it.

Lost appeal. They're going to execute at sunset. Nothing you can do. Don't come down. I don't want you to see it.

Hagrid.

"We've got to go," Harry said at once. "He can't just sit there on his own, waiting for the executioner!"

"Sunset, though," Ron said, who was staring out the window in a glazed sort of way. "We'd never be allowed…..'specifically you two, Claire, Harry…"

"If only someone hadn't left his invisibility cloak by the one-eyed witch," Claire glared at Harry.

Hermione stood up. "Where exactly is this statue?"

Harry told her how to get to the statue of the one-eyed witch and Hermione strode across the room, pushed open the Fat Lady's portrait and vanished from sight.

"She hasn't gone to get it?" Ron said, staring after her.

"I think she did." Claire said.

Hermione returned fifteen minutes later with the silvery cloak folded carefully under her robes.

"Hermione, I don't know what's gotten into you lately!" Ron said, astounded. "First you hit Malfoy, then you walk out on Professor Trelawney—"

Hermione looked rather flattered.

They went to dinner with everyone else, but did not return to Gryffindor Tower afterward. They went into an empty classroom and Harry pulled out the cloak that he hid in the front of his robes. The four of them went under the cloak and waited until the coast was clear. They walked very close together so that nobody would see them, they crossed the hall on tiptoe beneath the cloak, then walked down the stone front steps into the grounds. The sun was beginning to set.

They soon reached Hagrid's cabin and knocked. He was a minute in answering, and when he did, he looked all around for his visitor, pale-faced and trembling.

"It's us," Harry hissed. "We're wearing the Invisibility Cloak. Let us in and we can take it off."

"Yeh shouldn've come!" Hagrid whispered, but he stood back, as they stepped inside. Hagrid shut the door quickly and Harry pulled off the cloak.

Hagrid was not crying, not did he throw himself upon their necks. The man before them looked helpless, which was worse to watch than tears. Hagrid offered them some tea.

"Where's Buckbeak, Hagrid?" Hermione said hesitantly.

"I—I took him outside," Hagrid said, spilling milk all over the table as he filled up the jug. "He's tethered in me pumpkin patch. Thought he oughta see the trees an'—an' smell fresh air—before—"

Hagrid's hand trembled so violently that the milk jug slipped from his grasp and shattered all over the floor.

"I'll do it, Hagrid," Hermione said quickly, hurrying over and starting to clean up the mess.

"There's another one in the cupboard," Hagrid said, sitting down and wiping his forehead on his sleeve. Harry glanced at Claire and Ron, who both looked back hopelessly.

"Isn't there anything anyone can do, Hagrid?" Claire asked fiercely. "Dumbledore—"

"He's tired," Hagrid said. "He's got no power ter overrule the Committee. He told 'em Buckbeak's all right, but they're scared….Yeh know what Lucius Malfoy's like….threatened 'em, I expect….an' the executioner, Macnair, he's an old pal o' Malfoy's…..but it'll be quick an' clean…an' I'll be beside him….."

Hagrid swallowed. "Dumbledore's gonna come down while it—while it happens. Wrote me this mornin'. Said he wants ter—ter be with me. Great man, Dumbledore…."

"We'll stay with you too, Hagrid," Claire began, but Hagrid shook his shaggy head.

"Yeh're ter go back up ter the castle. I told yeh, I don' wan' yeh watchin'. An' yeh shouldn' be down here anyway…..If Fudge an' Dumbledore catch yeh out without permission, Harry, Claire, yeh'll both be in big trouble."

Silent tears ran down Hermione's face, but she hid them from Hagrid, bustling around making tea. Then, as she picked up the milk bottle to pour some into the jug, she let out a shriek.

"Ron! I—I don't believe it—it's Scabbers!"

Ron gaped at her.

"What are you talking about?"

Hermione carried the milk jug over to the table and turned it upside down. With a frantic squeak, and much scrambling to get back inside, Scabbers the rat came sliding out onto the table.

"Scabbers!" Ron said blankly. "Scabbers, what are you doing here?"

He grabbed the struggling rat and held him up to the light, Scabbers looked horrible. He was thinner than ever, large tuffs of hair had fallen out leaving wide bald patches, and he writhed in Ron's hands as though desperate to free himself.

"It's okay, Scabbers!" Ron said. "No cats! There's nothing here to hurt you!"

Hagrid suddenly stood up, his eyes fixed on the window.

"They're comin'…."

Claire, Harry, Ron, and Hermione whipped around. A group of men were walking down the distant castle steps that included Dumbledore, Fudge, the feeble old Committee member and the executioner, Macnair.

"Yeh gotta go," Hagrid said. "They mustn' find yeh here…..Go now….."

Ron stuffed Scabbers into his pocket and Hermione picked up the cloak.

"I'll let yeh out the back way," Hagrid said.

They followed him to the door to his back garden.

"Go on, get goin'," Hagrid told them.

"Hagrid, we can't—"

"We'll tell them what really happened—"

"They can't kill him—"

"He didn't do anything wrong—"

"Go!" Hagrid said fiercely. "It's bad enough without you lot in trouble an' all!"

They had no choice. As Hermione threw the cloak over Harry, Claire, and Ron, they heard voices at the front of the cabin. Hagrid looked at the place where they had just vanished from sight.

"Go quick," he said hoarsely. "Don' listen…."

And he strode back into his cabin as someone knocked at the front door.

Slowly, in a kind of horrified trance, Claire, Harry, Ron, and Hermione set off silently around Hagrid's house. AS they reached the other side, the front door closed with a sharp snap.

"Please, let's hurry," Hermione whispered. "I can't stand it, I can't bear it…."

They started up the sloping lawn toward the castle. The sun was sinking fast now; the sky had turned to a clear, purple-tinged grey, but to the west there was a ruby-red glow.

Ron stopped dead.

"Oh, c'mon, Ron," Claire began.

"It's Scabbers—he won't—stay put—"

Ron was bent over, trying to keep Scabbers in his pocket, but the rat was going berserk; squeaking madly, twisting and flailing, trying to sink his teeth into Ron's hand.

"Scabbers, it's me, you idiot, it's Ron," Ron hissed.

They heard a door open behind them and men's voices.

"Oh, Ron, please let's move, they're going to do it!" Hermione breathed.

"Okay—Scabbers, stay put—"

They walked forward; Harry and Claire, liked Hermione, were trying not to listen to the rumble of voices behind them. Ron stopped again.

"I can't hold him—Scabbers, shut up, everyone'll hear us—"

The rat was squeaking wildly, but not loudly enough to cover up the sounds drifting from Hagrid's garden. There was a jumble of indistinct male voice, a silence, and then, without warning, the unmistakable swish and thud of an axe.

Claire gasped while Hermione swayed on the spot.

"They did it!" Hermione whispered. "I d—don't believe it—they did it!"

* * *

><p><em>Only seven to eight chapters left! You'll see Sirius either in the next chapter or the one after. Things are about to be revealed and I'm really excited to write it! What do you all think of Professor Trelawney's prediction? What about what Claire saw in the crystal ball? Tell me your thoughts in the review section. I will say that what Claire saw and Professor Trelawney said reveal certain things that are about to happen in this book and from the fourth book on. I have a lot of ideas on how I want this story to end and I think, well I hope, you'll be surprised. <em>

_Reply to Reviews: _

_Themarauders21: There isn't a Doctor Who tv show in this story. So, Harry won't be saying that. Sorry._

_Natekleh: Right. When I wrote the last chapter I was like there are some major tensions between them, especially Harry and Jason._

_Teckie De Cool: I know at first I was so heart set on Claire and Harry but then I started writing Jason and Claire's relationship and I'm torn. I was trying to figure out how to break them up and well you'll see in the next book. It's kind of sad/romantic what I have planned. As for the action it starts in the next chapter. I'm just as excited as you for the whole action/drama stuff to come. A lot is going to happen in the last several chapters and there's a surprise coming too._

_NicoleR85: I haven't decided yet when they'll get together. I'm thinking not until sixth or seventh year but I'm not sure yet. _

_Rainpelt the Doctor: Thank you! I'm glad you liked Jason's character._

_Rukia-chappy: Yep, Harry/Claire had a moment. I thought it was really sweet._

_Nerdfighter1309: Thank you for pointing that out. I'm usually pretty good about pointing those things out but I did update at 3 in the morning so I probably didn't process it at the time. Thank you though again for telling me._


	17. Animagi and Boxing Branches

Chapter 17: Animagi and Boxing Branches

Claire, Harry, Hermione, and Ron stood transfixed with horror under the Invisibility Cloak. The very last rays of the setting sun were casting a bloody light over the long-shadowed grounds. Then, behind them, they heard a wild howling.

"Hagrid," Harry muttered. Without thinking about what he was doing, he made to turn back, but Ron and Hermione seized his arms.

"We can't," Claire said, who was paper-white. "He'll be in worse trouble if they know we've been to see him…."

Hermione's breathing was shallow and uneven.

"How—could—they?" she choked. "How_ could_ they?"

"Come on," Ron said, whose teeth seemed to be chattering.

They set off back towards the castle, walking slowly to keep themselves hidden under the cloak. The light was fading fast now. By the time they reached open ground, darkness was settling like a spell around them.

"Scabbers, keep still," Ron hissed, clamping his hand over his chest. The rat was wriggling madly. Ron came to a sudden halt, trying to force Scabbers deeper into his pocket. "What's the matter with you, you stupid rat? Stay still—OUCH! He bit me!"

"Ron, be quiet!" Claire whispered.

"Fudge'll be out here in a minute—" Hermione said urgently.

"He won't—stay—put—" Ron said, continuing to struggle with the rat.

Scabbers was plainly terrified. He was writhing with all his might, trying to break free of Ron's grip.

"What's the _matter_ with him?" Claire said annoyed.

"I—don't—know—" Ron said.

Harry's eye caught a pair of wide, yellow eyes glinting eerily in the darkness—Crookshanks. Whether he could see them or was following the sound of Scabber's squeaks, Harry couldn't tell.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione moaned. "No, go away, Crookshanks! Go away!"

But the cat was getting nearer—

"Scabbers—NO!"

Too late—the rat had slipped between Ron's clutching fingers, hit the ground, and scampered away. In one bound, Crookshanks sprang after him, and before Harry, Claire, or Hermione could stop him, Ron had thrown the Invisibility Cloak off himself and pelted away into the darkness.

_"Ron!"_ Claire moaned annoyed.

Claire, Hermione, and Harry looked at each other, then followed at a sprint; it was impossible to run full out under the cloak; they pulled it off and it streamed behind them like a banner as they hurtled after Ron; they could hear his feet thundering along ahead and his shouts at Crookshanks.

"Get away from him—get away—Scabbers, come here—"

There was a loud thud.

"Gotcha! Get off, you stinking cat—"

Claire, Harry, and Hermione almost fell over Ron; they skidded to a stop right in front of him. He was sprawled on the ground, but Scabbers was back in his pocket; he had both hands held tight over the quivering lump.

"Ron—come on— back under the cloak—" Hermione panted. "Dumbledore—the Minister—they'll be coming back out in a minute—"

But before they could catch their breath or cover themselves again, they heard the soft pounding of gigantic paws….Something was bounding toward them, quiet as a shadow—an enomorous, pale-eyed, jet-black dog.

Harry reached for his wand, but too late—the dog had made an enormous leap and the front paws hit him on the chest; he keeled over backward in a whirl of hair; he felt its hot breath, saw inch-long teeth—

But the force of its leap had carried it too far; it rolled off him. Dazed, feeling as though his ribs were broken, Harry tried to stand up; he could hear it growling as it skidded around for a new attack.

Ron was on his feet. As the dog sprang back toward them he pushed Harry aside; the dog's jaws fastened instead around Ron's outstretched arm. Harry lunged forward, he seized a handful of the brute's hair, but it was dragging Ron away as easily as though he were a rag doll—

Then, out of nowhere, something hit Harry so hard across the face he was knocked off his feet again. He heard Hermione shriek with pain and Claire curse as they both fell too.

Claire, shaking the pain away, withdrew her wand and whispered, _"Lumos!"_

The wand light showed her the trunk of a thick tree; they had chased Scabbers into the shadow of the Whomping Willow and its branches were creaking as though in a high wind, whipping backward and forward to stop them going nearer.

"Really?" Claire said to herself. "Of all the trees it _had_ to be the Whomping Willow?"

And there, at the base of the trunk, was the dog, dragging Ron backward into a large gap in the roots.

"Ron!" Claire yelled, trying to follow, but a heavy branch whipped lethally through the air and she was forced backward landing on the ground again.

All they could see now was one of Ron's legs, which he had hooked around a root in an effort to stop the dog from pulling him farther underground—but a horrible crack cut the air like a gunshot; Ron's leg had broken, and a moment later, his foot vanished from sight.

"Harry, Claire—we've got to go for help—" Hermione gasped; she was bleeding too; the Willow had cut her across the shoulder.

"No!" Harry exclaimed. "That thing's big enough to eat him; we haven't got time—"

"Harry—we're never going to get through without help—"

Another branch whipped down at them, twigs clenched like knuckles.

"If that dog got through, then so can we," Claire panted, darting here and there, trying to find a way through the vicious, swishing branches. "Oh, this is ridiculous!" Claire then remembered a spell and pointed her wand at the tree,_ "Immobulus!"_

The tree abruptly froze. The three of them sighed in relief.

"I can't believe I didn't think of using that spell," Hermione muttered to herself.

"Good thinking, Claire," Harry said.

They covered the distance to the trunk in seconds, but before they had reached the gap in the roots, Crookshanks appeared and slid into it with a flick of his bottlebrush tail. Harry went next; he crawled forward, headfirst, and slid down an earthy slope to the bottom of a very low, dark tunnel.

_"Lumos,"_ Harry whispered and the end of his wand emitted a light.

Crookshanks was a little way along, his eyes flashing in the light from Harry's wand. Seconds later, Hermione and Claire slithered down beside him.

"Where's Ron?" Hermone whispered in a terrified voice.

"This way," Harry said, setting off, bent-backed, after Crookshanks.

"I wonder where this tunnel comes out," Claire said following behind him. "I know it was marked on the Marauder's Map but Fred and George said no one's ever gotten into it."

"Well, I guess we're about to find out," Harry said.

They moved as fast as they could, bent almost double; ahead of them, Crookshanks's tail bobbed in and out of view. On and on went the passage; it felt at least as long as the one to Honeydukes…All Claire and Harry could think of was Ron and what the enormous dog might be doing to him….

"Do you think Ron's alright?" Hermione said suddenly.

But Claire and Harry couldn't give her a definite answer because they weren't sure themselves. And then the tunnel began to rise; moments later it twisted, and Crookshanks had gone. Instead, Harry could see a patch of dim light through a small opening.

He, Claire, and Hermione paused, gasping for breath, edging forward. The three of them raised their wands to see what lay beyond.

It was a room, a very disordered, dusty room. Paper was peeling from the walls; there were stains all over the floor; every piece of furniture was broken as though somebody had smashed it. The windows were all boarded up.

Harry glanced at Claire and Hermione, who both looked very frightened but nodded.

Harry pulled himself out of the hole, staring around. The room was deserted, but a door to their right stood open, leading to a shadowy hallway. Hermione suddenly grabbed Harry's arm. Her wide eyes were traveling around the boarded windows.

"Harry," she whispered, "I think we're in the Shrieking Shack."

"Isn't the Shrieking Shack supposed to be haunted?" Claire whispered as she joined them.

At that moment, there was a creak overhead. Something had moved upstairs. The three of them looked up at the ceiling.

"I'll take that as a yes," Claire muttered.

Hermione's grip on Harry's arm was so tight he was losing feeling in his fingers. He raised his eyebrows at her; she nodded again and let go.

"C'mon," Claire whispered to them as she went over to the open door.

Harry and Hermione followed Claire into the hall and up the crumbling staircase. When Claire stepped on one of the steps of the staircase, the wood broke and her foot got caught. She felt pieces of wood digging into her skin.

"Shit," Claire said, as she held onto the railing hoping it wouldn't fall apart too.

"Hold still," Harry said. "We'll get you out."

Harry and Hermione helped Claire get her foot out of the broken step.

"Thanks," Claire thanked them. "Watch your step. Literally."

They continued to climb the stairs until they reached a dark landing.

_"Nox,"_ they whispered together, and the lights at the end of their wands went out. Only one door was open. As they crept toward it, they heard movement from behind it; a low moan, and then a deep, loud purring. They exchanged a last look, a last nod.

Wand held tightly before him, Harry kicked the door wide open. On a magnificent four-poster bed with dusty hangings lay Crookshanks, purring loudly at the sight of them. On the floor beside him, clutching his leg, which stuck out at a strange angle, was Ron.

Claire, Harry, and Hermione dashed across to him.

"Ron—are you okay?" Hermione questioned.

"Where's the dog?" Harry asked.

"Not a dog," Ron moaned. His teeth were gritted with pain.

"What do you mean?" Claire said. "Of course, that thing was a dog!"

"Claire, Harry, it's a trap—"

"What?" Harry said.

"He's the dog…he's an Animagus….."

"Who's the dog? Who's the Animagus?" Claire questioned.

Ron was staring over Claire's shoulder. Claire wheeled around. With a snap, the man in the shadows closed the door behind them. A mass of filthy, matted hair hung to his elbows. If eyes hadn't been shining out of the deep, dark sockets, he might have been a corpse. The waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked like a skull. His yellow teeth were bared in a grin. It was Sirius Black. Claire raised her wand at him and—

_"Expelliarmus!"_ he croaked, pointing Ron's wand at them.

Claire's, Harry's, and Hermione's wands shot out of their hands, high in the air, and Black caught them. Then he took a step closer. Harry moved in front of Claire. Black fixed his eyes on Harry.

"I thought you'd both come and help your friend," he said hoarsely, eyes flickering back to Claire and then to Harry. "Your mother and father would have done the same for me. Brave of you, not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful…..it will make everything much easier….."

Claire felt disgusted by the taunt about her mother and Harry's father. _How could he do something like this?_ Claire thought. Suddenly, Harry started forward, but Claire, Hermione, and Ron grabbed him and held him back…."No, Harry, you're better than him." Claire whispered. "Don't stoop to his level."

"If you want to kill Harry and Claire, you'll have to kill us too!" Ron said fiercely, though the effort of standing upright was draining him of still more color, and he swayed slightly as he spoke.

Something flickered in Black's shadowed eyes.

"Lie down," he said quietly to Ron. "You will damage that leg even more."

Claire raised her eyebrow. _Why would he care about that?_ She thought to herself.

"Did you hear me?" Ron said weakly, though he was clinging painfully to Harry to stay upright. "You'll have to kill all four of us!"

"There'll be only one murder here tonight," Black said, and his grin widened.

"Why's that?" Harry spat, trying to wrench himself free of Claire, Ron, and Hermione. "Didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind slaughtering all those Muggles to get at Pettigrew? I bet if you weren't caught Claire and her parents would've been next…..What's the matter, gone soft in Azkaban?"

"Harry!" Hermione whimpered. "Be quiet!"

"HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!" Harry roared, and with a huge effort he broke free of Hermione's, Claire's, and Ron's restraint and lunged forward—

He had forgotten about magic—he had forgotten that he was short and skinny and thirteen, whereas Black was a tall, full-grown man—all Harry knew was that he wanted to hurt Black as badly as he could and that he didn't care how much he got hurt in return—

Perhaps it was the shock of Harry doing something so stupid, but Black didn't raise the wands in time— one of Harry's hands fastened over his wasted wrist, forcing the wand tips away; the knuckles of Harry's other hand collided with the side of Black's head and they fell, backward, into the wall—

Hermione and Claire were screaming; Ron was yelling; there was a blinding flash as the wands in Black's hand sent a jet of sparks into the air that missed Harry's face by inches; Harry felt the shrunken arm under his fingers twisting madly, but he clung on, his other hand punching every part of Black it could find.

But Black's free hand had found Harry's throat—

"No," he hissed, "I've waited too long—"

The fingers tightened, Harry choked, his glasses askew.

Then he saw Claire jump on Black's back. Black let go of Harry as he tried to get Claire off his back. Black was able to pry Claire off him and she landed painfully on her back. Ron then threw himself on Black's wand hand and Hermione then swung her foot and Harry heard a faint clatter—

He fought free of the tangle of bodies and saw his own wand rolling across the floor; he threw himself toward it but—

"Argh!"

Crookshanks had joined the fray; both sets of front claws had sunk themselves deep into Harry's arm; Harry threw him off, but Crookshanks now darted toward Harry's wand—

"NO YOU DON'T!" Harry roared, and he aimed a kick at Crookshanks that made the cat leap aside, spitting; Harry snatched up his wand and turned—

"Get out of the way!" he shouted at Ron, Hermione, and Claire.

They didn't need telling twice. Hermione, gasping for breath, her lip bleeding, scrambled aside, snatching up her, Claire's, and Ron's wands. Ron crawled to the four-poster and collapsed onto it, panting, his white face now tinged with green, both hands clutching his broken leg. Claire moved to where Ron was, panting and trying to ignore the pain in her back.

Black was sprawled at the bottom of the wall. His thin chest rose and fell rapidly as he watched Harry walking slowly nearer, his wand pointing straight at Black's heart.

"Going to kill me, Harry?" he whispered.

Harry stopped right above him, his wand still pointing at Black's chest, looking down at him. A livid bruise was rising around Black's left eye and his nose was bleeding.

"You killed my parents," Harry said, his voice shaking slightly, but his wand hand quite steady.

Black stared up at him out of those sunken eyes.

"I don't deny it," he said very quietly. "But if you knew the whole story."

"The whole story?" Harry repeated, a furious pounding in his ears. "You sold them to Voldemort. That's all I need to know."

"You've got to listen to me," Black said, and there was a note of urgency in his voice now. "You'll regret it if you don't ….You don't understand…"

"I understand a lot better than you think," Harry said, and his voice shook more than ever. "You never heard her, did you? My mum…..trying to stop Voldemort killing me…..and you did that….you did it…."

Before either of them could say another word, something ginger streaked past Harry; Crookshanks leapt onto Black's chest and settled himself there, right over Black's heart. Black blinked and looked down at the cat.

"Get off," he murmured, trying to push Crookshanks off him. But Crookshanks sank his claws into Black's robes and wouldn't shift. He turned his ugly, squashed face to Harry and looked up at him with those great yellow eyes. To his right, Hermione gave a dry sob.

Harry raised his wand and suddenly Claire appeared by his side.

"Harry, don't do it," She said looking into his eyes.

"Why shouldn't I, Claire?" Harry said, his eyes not leaving Black. "He killed my parents."

"I know, Harry," Claire said. "But would your parents really want you to avenge their deaths by becoming a murderer?"

Suddenly, a new sound came. Muffled footsteps were echoing up through the floor—someone was moving downstairs.

"WE'RE UP HERE!" Hermione screamed suddenly. "WE'RE UP HERE—SIRIUS BLACK—QUICK!"

Black made a startled movement that almost dislodged Crookshanks; Harry gripped his wand convulsively—_Do it now!_ said a voice in his head—but then he thought about what Claire had said. The footsteps were thundering upstairs and Harry still hadn't done it.

The door of the room burst open in a shower of red sparks and Harry wheeled around as Professor Lupin came hurtling into the room, his face bloodless, his wand raised and ready. His eyes flickered over Ron, lying on the floor, over Hermione, cowering next to the door, to Harry, standing with his wand covering Black, to Claire, standing next to Harry trying to stop him from killing Black, and then to Black himself, crumpled and bleeding at Harry's feet.

_"Expelliarmus!"_ Lupin shouted.

Harry's wand flew once more out of his hand; so did the three Hermione was holding. Lupin caught them all deftly, then moved into the room, staring at Black, who still had Crookshanks lying protectively across his chest.

Harry stood there, feeling suddenly empty. He hadn't done it. His nerve had failed him. Black was going to be handed back to the dementors.

Then Lupin spoke, in a very tense voice.

"Where is he, Sirius?"

Harry looked quickly at Lupin. He didn't understand what Lupin meant. Who was Lupin talking about? He turned to look at Black again.

Black's face was quite expressionless. For a few seconds, he didn't move at all. Then, very slowly, he raised his empty hand and pointed straight at Ron. Mystified, Harry glanced around at Ron, who looked bewildered.

"But then…." Lupin muttered, staring at Black so intently it seemed he was trying to read his mind, "…..why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless"—Lupin's eyes suddenly widened, as though he was seeing something beyond Black, something none of the rest could see, "—unless he was the one….unless you switched….without telling me?"

Very slowly, his sunken gaze never leaving Lupin's face, Black nodded.

"Professor," Harry interrupted loudly, "what's going on—?"

But he never finished the question, because what he saw made his voice die in his throat. Lupin was lowering his wand, gazing fixedly at Black. The Professor walked to Black's side, seized his hand, pulled him to his feet so that Crookshanks fell to the floor, and embraced Black like a brother.

Harry felt as though the bottom had dropped out of his stomach.

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Claire screamed.

Lupin let go of Black and turned to her.

"You—you—"

"Claire—"

"—you and him!"

"Claire, clam down—"

"We didn't tell anyone!" Claire shrieked. "Hermione and I have been covering up for you—"

"Claire, listen to me, please!" Lupin shouted. "I can explain—"

Harry could feel himself shaking, not with fear, but with a fresh wave of fury.

"I trusted you," he shouted at Lupin, his voice wavering out of control, "and all this time you've been his friend!"

"You're wrong," Lupin said. "I haven't been Sirius's friend, but I am now—Let me explain…."

"NO!" Hermione screamed. "Harry, don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you and Claire dead too—he's a werewolf!"

There was a ringing of silence. Everyone's eyes were now on Lupin, who looked remarkably calm, though rather pale.

"Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione," he said. "Only one out of three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius get into the castle and I certainly don't want Claire or Harry dead…." An odd shiver passed over his face. "But I won't deny that I am a werewolf."

Ron made a valiant effort to get up again but fell back with a whimper of pain. Lupin made toward him, looking concerned, but Ron gasped,

_"Get away from me, werewolf!"_

Lupin stopped dead. Then, with an obvious effort, he turned to Hermione and Claire and said, "How long have you two known?"

_"Ages,"_ Hermione whispered. "Since I did Professor Snape's essay. I showed it to Claire soon after….."

"He'll be delighted," Lupin said coolly. "He assigned that essay hoping someone would realize what my symptoms meant…..Did you check the lunar chart and realize that I was always ill at the full moon? Or did you realize that the boggart changed into the moon when it saw me?"

"Both," Hermione said quietly.

Lupin forced a laugh.

"You're the cleverest witch of your age I've ever met, Hermione."

"I'm not," Hermione whispered. "If I'd been a bit cleverer, I'd have told everyone what you are!"

"But they already know," Lupin said. "At least, the staff do."

"Dumbledore hired you when he knew you were a werewolf?" Ron gasped. "Is he mad?"

"Some of the staff thought so," Lupin said. "He had to work very hard to convince certain teachers that I'm trustworthy—"

"AND HE WAS WRONG!" Harry yelled. "YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM ALL THE TIME!" He was pointing at Black, who suddenly crossed to the four-poster bed and sank onto it, his face hidden in one shaking hand. Crookshanks leapt up beside him and stepped onto his lap, purring. Ron edged away from both of them, dragging his leg.

"I have not been helping Sirius," Lupin said. "If you'll give me a chance, I'll explain. Look—"

He separated Harry's, Claire's, Ron's, and Hermione's wands and threw each back to its owner; Harry caught his, stunned.

"There," Lupin said, sticking his own wand back into his belt. "You're armed, we're not. Now will you listen?"

Harry didn't know what to think. Was it a trick?

"If you haven't been helping him," Claire said, glancing at Black, "how did you know he was here?"

"The map," Lupin said. "The Marauder's Map. I was in my office examining it—"

"You know how to work it?" Harry said suspiciously.

"Of course I know how to work," Lupin said, waving his hand impatiently. "I helped write it. I'm Moony—that was my friends' nickname for me at school."

"You wrote—?"

"The important thing is, I was watching it carefully this evening, because I had an idea that you, Claire, Ron, and Hermione might try and sneak out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his hippogriff was executed. And I was right, wasn't I?"

He had started to pace up and down, looking at them. Little patches of dust rose at his feet.

"You might have been wearing your father's old cloak, Harry—"

"How d'you know about the cloak?"

"The number of times I saw James disappearing under it….," Lupin said, waving an impatient hand again. "The point is, even if you're wearing an Invisibility Cloak, you still show up on the Marauder's Map. I watched you cross the grounds and enter Hagrid's hut. Twenty minutes later, you left Hagrid, and set off back toward the castle. But you were now accompanied by somebody else."

"What?" Harry said. "No, we weren't!"

"I couldn't believe my eyes," Lupin said, still pacing, and ignoring Harry's interruption. "I thought the map must be malfunctioning. How could he be with you?"

"No one was with us!" Harry said.

"And then I saw another dot, moving fast toward you, labeled Sirius Black….I saw him collide with you; I watched as he pulled two of you into the Whomping Willow—"

"One of us!" Ron said angrily.

"No, Ron," Lupin said. "Two of you."

He had stopped his pacing, his eyes moving over Ron.

"Do you think I could have a look at the rat?" he said evenly.

"What?" Ron said. "What's Scabbers got to do with it?"

"Everything," Lupin said. "Could I see him, please?"

Ron hesitated, then put a hand inside his robes. Scabbers emerged, thrashing desperately; Ron had to seize his long bald tail to stop him escaping. Crookshanks stood up on Black's leg and made a soft hissing noise.

Lupin moved closer to Ron. He seemed to be holding his breath as he gazed intently at Scabbers.

"What?" Ron said again, holding Scabbers close to him, looking scared. "What's my rat got to do with anything?"

"That's not a rat," croaked Sirius Black suddenly.

"What d'you mean—of course he's a rat—"

"No, he's not," Lupin said quietly. "He's a wizard by the name of Peter Pettigrew."

Then Claire, who had been listening intently the entire time, spoke.

"Are you implying that Scabbers is Peter Pettigrew in his Animagus form?"

* * *

><p><em>Cliffhanger! The next chapter will be up later this week. What did you think so far? <em>

_Reply to Reviews: _

_Rainpelt the Doctor: I just had extra time so I decided to post another chapter. Good guess about the mask on the rat. _

_Ghostwriter71: I definitely see your point. I guess it just depends on the people in the relationship. It really is like real life. I mean that's usually how it works out. The people who like each other are always oblivious to one another's feelings. I agree I love the whole paradox they create in the book. Even though this book is coming to a close there's still at least four more books to look forward to. More drama, adventure, romance, and secrets revealed!_

_NicoleR85: It will stick to the canon in the books for the next few chapters with little things added here and there. I know in one of the last chapters there will be a big surprise and something will happen to Pettigrew._

_Themarauders21: No, she didn't get a chance to tell them about her vision in the crystal ball with everything that happened. She'll probably tell them later._

_Natekleh: Me too!_

_HELLO-A: Ok, just thought I'd ask._

_TENZA: Glad you liked the prophecy and Claire's vision in the crystal ball. You'll find out soon if Sirius knew that Claire's dad was an alien because to be honest I'm torn between whether or not he should know._


	18. Moony's Tale

Chapter 18: Moony's Tale

It took a few seconds for the absurdity of this statement to sink in. Then Ron voiced what Harry was thinking.

"You're both mental."

"Ridiculous!" Hermione said faintly.

"Peter Pettigrew's _dead_!" Harry said. "He killed him twelve years ago!" He pointed to Black, whose face twitched convulsively.

"I meant to," he growled, his yellow teeth bared, "but little Peter got the better of me…..not this time, though!"

And Crookshanks was thrown to the floor as Black lunged at Scabbers; Ron yelled with pain as Black's weight fell on his broken leg.

"Sirius, NO!" Lupin yelled, launching himself forwards and dragging Black away from Ron again, "WAIT! You can't do it just like that—they need to understand—we've got to explain—"

"We can explain afterwards!" Black snarled, trying to throw Lupin off.

"They've—got—a—right—to—know—everything!" Lupin panted, still trying to restrain Black. "Ron's kept him as a pet! There are parts of it even I don't understand! And Harry— you owe Harry the truth, Sirius!"

Black stopped struggling, though his hollowed eyes were still fixed on Scabbers, who was clamped tightly under Ron's bitten, scratched, and bleeding hands.

"All right, then," Black said, without taking his eyes off the rat. "Tell them whatever you like. But make it quick, Remus. I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for…"

"You're nutters, both of you," Ron said shakily, looking round at Harry, Claire, and Hermione for support. "I've had enough of this. I'm off."

He tried to heave himself up on his good leg, but Lupin raised his wand again, pointing it at Scabbers.

"You're going to hear me out, Ron," he said quietly. "Just keep a tight hold on Peter while you listen."

"HE'S NOT PETER, HE'S SCABBERS!" Ron yelled, trying to force the rat back into his front pocket, but Scabbers was fighting too hard; Ron swayed and overbalanced, and Harry caught him and pushed him back down to the bed. Then, ignoring Black, Harry turned to Lupin.

"There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die," he said. "A whole street full of them….."

"They didn't see what they thought they saw!" Black said savagely, still watching Scabbers struggling in Ron's hands.

"Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter," Lupin said, nodding. "I believed it myself—until I saw the map tonight. Because the Marauder's Map never lies….Peter's alive. Ron's holding him, Harry."

Harry looked down at Ron, and as their eyes met, they agreed, silently; Black and Lupin were both out of their minds. Their story made no sense whatsoever. How could Scabbers be Peter Pettigrew? Azkaban must have unhinged Black after all— but why was Lupin playing along with him?

"But Professor Lupin," Hermione spoke in a trembling, would-be calm sort of voice, as though trying to will Professor Lupin to talk sensibly, "Scabbers can't be Pettigrew…it just can't be true, you know it can't….."

"Why can't it be true?" Lupin said calmly, as though they were in class, and Hermione had simply spotted a problem in an experiment with grindylows.

"Because….because people would know if Peter Pettigrew had been an Animagus. We did Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall. And I looked them up when I did my homework—the Ministry of Magic keeps tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals; there's a register showing what animal they become, and their markings and things…..and I went and looked Professor McGonagall up on the register, and there have been only seven recorded Animagi this century, and Pettigrew's name wasn't on the list."

"There could be unregistered Animagi, Hermione," Claire said. "Black's an Animagus and you said only Professor McGonagall was recorded as an Animagus for this century. If Black is an Animagus and the Ministry knew they could've found him by now. He was using his Animagus form as an advantage to hide from the dementors and the Ministry. If Black did that then it's possible the Scabbers could be Peter Pettigrew in his Animagus form."

"Correct, Claire!" Lupin said. "The Ministry never knew that there used to be four unregistered Animagi running around Hogwarts."

"If you're going to tell them the story, get a move on, Remus," Black snarled, who was still watching Scabbers's every desperate move. "I've waited twelve years, I'm not going to wait much longer."

"All right….but you'll need to help me, Sirius," Lupin said, "I only know how it began…."

Lupin broke off. There had been a loud creak behind him. The bedroom door had opened of its own accord. All six of them stared at it. Then Lupin strode toward it and looked out into the landing.

"No one there…."

"This place is haunted!" Ron said.

"It's not," Lupin said, still looking at the door in a puzzled way. "The Shrieking Shack was never haunted….The screams and howls the villagers used to hear were made by me."

He pushed his graying hair out of his eyes, thought for a moment, then said, "That's where all of this starts— with my becoming a werewolf. None of this could have happened if I hadn't been bitten…..and if I hadn't been so foolhardy…."

He looked sober and tired. Ron started to interrupt, but Hermione said, "Shhh!" She was watching Lupin very intently.

"I was a very small boy when I received the bite. My parents tried everything, but in those days there was no cure. The potion that Professor Snape has been making for me is a very recent discovery. It makes me safe, you see. As long as I take it in the week preceding the full moon, I keep my mind when I transform….I am able to curl up in my office, a harmless wolf, and wait for the moon to wane again. Before the Wolfsbane Potion was discovered, however, I became a fully fledged monster once a month. It seemed impossible that I would be able to come to Hogwarts. Other parents weren't likely to want their children exposed to me. But then Dumbledore became Headmaster, and he was sympathetic. He said that as long as we took certain precautions, there was no reason I shouldn't come to school…." Lupin sighed, and looked directly at Harry. "I told you, months ago, that the Whomping Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts. The truth is that it was planted because I came to Hogwarts. This house"—Lupin looked miserably around the room,—"the tunnel that leads to it—they were built for my use. Once a month, I was smuggled out of the castle, into this place, to transform. The tree was placed at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone coming across me while I was dangerous."

Harry couldn't see where this story was going, but he was listening raptly all the same. The only sound apart from Lupin's voice was Scabbers's frightened squeaking.

"My transformations in those days were— were terrible. It is very painful to turn into a werewolf. I was separated from humans to bite, so I bit and scratched myself instead. The villagers heard the noise and the screaming and thought they were hearing particularly violent spirits. Dumbledore encouraged the rumor….Even now, when the house has been silent for years, the villagers don't dare approach it…But apart from my transformations, I was happier than I had ever been in my life. For the first time ever, I had friends, four great friends. Sirius Black….Peter Pettigrew….and, of course, you mother, Claire—Carina Black, and your father, Harry—James Potter. Now, my four friends could hardly fail to notice that I disappeared once a month. I made up all sorts of stories. Your mother, Claire, was the only one who never bought any of my stories. She was the first to discover my secret. Carina was absolutely furious that I'd never told her or the others saying that I didn't have to go through it alone. Carina convinced me to tell the others and I eventually did. And they didn't desert me at all. Instead, they did something for me that would make my transformation not only bearable, but the best times of my life. They became Animagi."

"My dad too?" Harry said, astounded.

"Yes, indeed," Lupin said. "It took them the best part of three years to work out how to do it. James, Carina, and Sirius here were the cleverest students in the school, and lucky they were, because the Animagus transformation can go horribly wrong—one reason the Ministry keeps a close watch on those attempting to do it. Peter needed all the help he could get from James, Carina, and Sirius. Finally, in our fifth year, they managed it. They could each turn into a different animal at will."

"But how did that help you?" Hermione said, sounding puzzled.

"They couldn't keep me company as humans, so they kept me company as animals," Lupin said. "A werewolf is only a danger to people. They sneaked out of the castle every month under James's Invisibility Cloak. They transformed…Peter, as the smallest, could slip beneath the Willow's attacking branches and touch the knot that freezes it."

"Would've been nice to know earlier before we were practically beaten to a pulp by twigs," Claire muttered.

"They would then slip down the tunnel and join me. Under their influence, I became less dangerous. My body was still wolfish, but my mind seemed to become less so while I was with them."

"Hurry up, Remus," Black snarled, who was still watching Scabbers with a horrible sort of hunger on his face.

"I'm getting there, Sirius, I'm getting there….well, highly exciting possibilities were open to us now that we could all transform. Soon we were leaving the Shrieking Shack and roaming the school grounds and village by night. Sirius, Carina, and James transformed into such large animals, they were able to keep a werewolf in check. I doubt whether any Hogwarts students ever found out more about the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade than we did….And that's how we came to write the Marauder's Map. Well, actually it was Carina's idea to create it, but we did help her with it, and we signed it with our nicknames. Sirius is Padfoot. Peter is Wormtail. Carina is Howl. James was Prongs."

"What sort of animal—?" Claire began, but Hermione cut her off.

"That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?"

"A thought that still haunts me," Lupin said heavily. "And there were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless—carried away with our own cleverness."

"I sometimes felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust, of course…..he had admitted me to Hogwarts when no other headmaster would have done so, and he had no idea I was breaking the rules he had set down for my own and others' safety. He never knew I had led four fellow students into becoming Animagi illegally. But I always managed to forget my guilty feelings every time we sat down to plan our next month's adventure. And I haven't changed…."

Lupin's face had hardened, and there was self-disgust in his voice, "All this year, I have been battling with myself, wondering whether I should tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an Animagus. But I didn't do it. Why? Because I was too cowardly. It would have meant admitting that I'd betrayed his trust while I was at school, admitting that I'd led others along with me…and Dumbledore's trust has meant everything to me. He let me into Hogwarts as a boy, and he gave me a job when I have been shunned all my adult life, unable to find paid work because of what I am. And so I convinced myself that Sirius was getting into the school using dark arts he learned from Voldemort, that being an Animagus had nothing to do with it…..so, in a way Snape's been right about me all along."

"Snape?" Black said harshly, taking his eyes off Scabbers for the first time in minutes and looking up at Lupin. "What's Snape got to do with it?"

"He's here, Sirius," Lupin said heavily. "He's teaching here as well." He looked up at Claire, Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Professor Snape was at school with us. He fought very hard against my appointment to the Defense Against the Dark Arts job. He has been telling Dumbledore all year that I am not to be trusted."

"So, it's safe to assume Snape wasn't all buddy-buddy with you two back in school," Claire said.

Black snorted while Lupin's mouth curved into a grin, "You'd be right. He has his reasons…you see, Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me—"

Black made a derisive noise.

"It served him right," he sneered. "Sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to…..hoping he could get us expelled…."

"Severus was very interested in where I went to every month." Lupin told Claire, Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "We were in the same year, you know, and we—er—didn't like each other very much. He especially disliked James. Jealous, I think, of James's talent on the Quidditch field…..anyway Snape had seen me crossing the grounds with Madam Pomfrey one evening as she led me toward the Whomping Willow to transform. Sirius thought it would be— er—amusing, to tell Snape all he had to do was prod the knot on the tree trunk with a long stick, and he'd be able to get in after me. Well, of course, Snape tried it—if he'd got as far as this house, he'd have met a fully grown werewolf—but James, who'd heard what Sirius had done, went after Snape and pulled him back, at great risk to his life….Snape glimpsed me, though, at the end of the tunnel. He was forbidden by Dumbledore to tell anybody, but from that time on he knew what I was…."

"So that's why Snape doesn't like you," Harry said slowly, "because he thought you were in on the joke?"

"That's right," sneered a cold voice from the wall behind Lupin.

Severus Snape was pulling off the Invisibility Cloak, his wand pointing directly at Lupin.

* * *

><p><em>I'm so excited for the ending of this book. I have something planned.<em>

_Reply to Reviews: _

_Rainpelt the Doctor: Thanks!_

_Moony Mercier: Yea, Claire inherited her calmness in those types of situations from her father. You'll see how she reacts to Wormtail in the next chapter._

_Guest: I'll think about it..._

_Teckie De Cool: I'm sorry and I left you with another cliffhanger! I'm glad you enjoy all the plot twists I've been adding._

_NicoleR85: Thanks and you'll find out soon..._

_Tenza: Thank you and ok._

_Ghostwriter71: Thank you!_


	19. The Mask Of Peter Pettigrew

Chapter 19: The Mask Of Peter Pettigrew

Hermione screamed. Black leapt to his feet. Claire's eyes widened in surprise. Harry felt as though he'd received a huge electric shock.

"I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow," Snape said, throwing the cloak aside, careful to keep this wand pointing directly at Lupin's chest. "Very useful, Potter, I thank you….."

Snape was slightly breathless, but his face was full of suppressed triumph. "You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here?" he said, his eyes glistening. "I've just been to your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your potion tonight, so I took a gobletful along. And very lucky I did….lucky for me, I mean. Lying on your desk was a certain map. One glance at it told me all I needed to know. I saw you running along this passageway out of sight."

"Severus—" Lupin began, but Snape overrode him.

"I've told the headmaster again and again that you're helping your old friend Black into the castle, Lupin, and here's the proof. Not even I dreamed you would have the nerve to use this old place as your hideout—"

"Severus, you're making a mistake," Lupin said urgently. "You haven't heard everything—I can explain—Sirius is not here to kill Harry or Claire—"

"Two more for Azkaban tonight," Snape said, his eyes now gleaming fanatically. "I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this….He was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin…a _tame_ werewolf—"

"You fool," Lupin said softly. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?"

BANG! Thin, snakelike cords burst from the end of Snape's wand and twisted themselves around Lupin's mouth, wrists, and ankles; he overbalanced and fell to the floor, unable to move. With a roar of rage, Black started toward Snape, but Snape pointed his wand straight between Black's eyes.

"Give me a reason," he whispered. "Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will."

Black stopped dead. It would have been impossible to say which face showed more hatred.

Harry stood there, paralyzed, not knowing what to do or whom to believe. He glanced at Ron, Hermione, and Claire. Ron looked just as confused as he did, still fighting to keep hold on the struggling Scabbers. Claire seemed to be contemplating on something while Hermione took an uncertain step toward Snape and said, in a very breathless voice, "Professor Snape—it—it wouldn't hurt to hear what they've got to say, w—would it?"

"Miss Granger, you are already facing suspension from this school," Snape spat. "You, Potter, Smith, and Weasley are out-of-bounds, in the company of a convicted murderer and a werewolf. For once in your life, _hold your tongue_."

Claire then stepped in. "But if there was a mistake—"

"KEEP QUIET SMITH; YOU STUPID GIRL! DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Snape shouted.

"DON'T YOU TALK TO MY NIECE THAT WAY!" Black shouted to Snape.

A few sparks shot out of the end of his wand, which was still pointed at Black's face, and Black instantly shut up.

"Vengeance is very sweet," Snape breathed at Black. "How I hoped I would be the one to catch you—"

"The joke's on you again, Severus," Black snarled. "As long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle" —he jerked his head at Ron—"I'll come quietly…."

"Up to the castle?" Snape said silkily. "I don't think we need to go that far. All I have to do is call the dementors once we get out of the Willow. They'll be very pleased to see you, Black…..pleased enough to give you a little kiss, I daresay….."

What little color there was in Black's face left it.

"You—you've got to hear me out," he croaked. "The rat—look at the rat—"

But there was a mad glint in Snape's eyes that Claire and Harry had never seen before. He seemed beyond reason.

"Come on, all of you," he said. He clicked his fingers, and the ends of the cords that bound Lupin flew to his hands. "I'll drag the werewolf. Perhaps the dementors will have a kiss for him too—"

Before they knew what they were doing, Claire and Harry had crossed the room in three strides and blocked the door.

"Get out of the way, Potter, Smith, you're both in enough trouble already," Snape snarled. "If I hadn't been here to save your skins—"

"Professor Lupin could've killed either one of us about a hundred times this year." Harry said. "We've been alone with him loads of times."

"Yea, Harry even took anti-dementor lessons with him alone," Claire said. "If Lupin was really helping Black, why didn't he just finish Harry off then?"

"Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's mind works," Snape hissed. "Get out of the way, Potter, Smith."

"YOU'RE PATHETIC!" Claire yelled. "YOU WON'T EVEN LISTEN TO THEIR SIDE OF THE STORY!"

"JUST BECAUSE THEY MADE A FOOL OUT OF YOU AT SCHOOL DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULDN'T HEAR THEM OUT—" Harry was cut off by a raging Snape.

"SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!" Snape shrieked, looking madder than ever. "It seems arrogance runs in both your families, Potter, Smith. I just saved your necks; you should be thanking me on bended knees! You would have been well served if he'd killed you both—now get out of the way, or I will _make you_. GET OUT OF THE WAY POTTER, SMITH!"

Claire and Harry made up their minds in a split second. Before Snape could take even one step toward them, they had raised their wands.

_"Expellarimus!"_ they yelled—except that theirs wasn't the only voice that shouted. There was a blast that made the door rattle on its hinges; Snape was lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall, then slid down it to the floor, a trickle of blood oozing from under his hair. He had been knocked out.

Claire and Harry looked around. Both Ron and Hermione had tried to disarm Snape at exactly the same moment. Snape's wand soared in a high arc and landed on the bed next to Crookshanks.

"You shouldn't have done that," Black said, looking at Claire and Harry. "You should have left him to me…."

"A lot of good that would've of done," Claire said. "You don't even have a wand. Besides, I don't know about Harry but I've always wanted to do that to Snape. However, it wasn't as rewarding as I thought it'd be."

"Claire!" Hermione said in a horrified whisper. "We attack a teacher! We're going to be in so much trouble!"

Claire raised an eyebrow. "Hermione, we surpassed getting in trouble when we snuck out to Hagrid's hut."

Claire then noticed Lupin struggling against his bonds. Black bent down quickly and untied him. Lupin straightened up, rubbing his arms where the ropes had cut into them.

"Thank you, Claire, Harry," he said to them.

"We're not saying we believe you," Harry told Lupin.

"Then it's time we offered you some proof," Lupin said. "You, boy—give me Peter, please. Now."

Ron clutched Scabbers closer to his chest. Claire rolled her eyes.

"Just give him the rat, Ron," Claire said annoyed.

"Come off it," Ron said weakly. "Are you trying to say he broke out of Azkaban just to get his hands on_ Scabbers_? I mean…." He looked up at Claire, Harry, and Hermione for support," Okay, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat— there are millions of rats—how's he supposed to know which one he's after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"

"You know, Sirius, that's a fair question," Lupin said, turning to Black and frowning slightly. "How_ did_ you find out where he was?"

Black put one of his claw like hands inside his robes and took out a crumpled piece of paper, which he smoothed flat and held out to show the others.

It was the photograph of Claire, Ron and his family that had appeared in the_ Daily Prophet_ the previous summer, and there, on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.

"How did you get this?" Lupin asked Black, thunderstruck.

"Fudge," Black said. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. At first I didn't pay attention to the rat because I saw Claire." He looked at Claire. "I knew you were my niece from the moment I saw this picture. You have the curse of the Black's unmanageable curly hair. Anyway, I then saw Peter…on this boy's shoulder….I knew him at once…how many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy and Claire would be going back to Hogwarts…to where Harry was…."

Claire looked closer at the picture and noticed something. Her mind went back to her exam with Professor Trelawney….

_"…..and now there's a rat. It looks like Ron's rat Scabbers and its missing a toe? Can't believe I never noticed that….."_

Claire couldn't believe it! Lupin and Black were really telling the truth. Claire then remembered one of the articles she had read in the library….

_Black's Attack_

_Sirius Black was sent to Azkaban after killing thirteen muggles and even his own friend Peter Pettigrew. The only thing found at the scene of the crime was one of Peter Pettigrew's fingers._

"Scabbers is missing a toe," Claire staring at the newspaper clipping in shock.

"So?" Ron said, still not buying that Scabbers could be Pettigrew.

"All they ever found of Peter Pettigrew at the scene of the crime was a finger." Claire said.

"Of course," Lupin breathed, then turned to Black. "So simple…so _brilliant_….he cut it off himself?"

"Just before he transformed," Black said. "When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself—and sped down into the sewer with the other rats….."

"Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something! He's been in the family for ages, right—"

"Twelve years, in fact," Lupin said. "Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?"

"We—we've been taking good care of him!" Ron said.

"Yea, if you don't count the multiple times you've lost track of him," Claire muttered.

"Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he?" Lupin said. "I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again…."

"He's been scared of that mad cat!" Ron said, nodding toward Crookshanks, who was still purring on the bed.

"Actually, Ron," Claire began, "Scabbers started looking ill before he met Crookshanks right around the time of Black's escape."

"And this cat isn't mad," Black said hoarsely. He reached out a bony hand and stroked Crookshanks's fluffy head. "He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever met. He recognized Peter for what he was right away. And when he met me, he knew I was no dog. It was a while before he trusted me….Finally, I managed to communicate to him what I was after, and he's been helping me…."

"What do you mean?" Hermione breathed.

"He tried to bring Peter to me, but couldn't…..so he stole the passwords into Gryffindor Tower for me…..As I understand it, he took them from a boy's bedside table….."

Harry remembered Neville saying he wrote down the passwords because Sir Cadogan had kept changing them and then remembered that one day he said he had misplaced them

"So that's how you got into Gryffindor Tower?" Harry said. "But wait, if you were after Pettigrew why did you attack Claire?"

"Yea, why did you attack me?" Claire said.

"Well, I saw Peter run out of the portrait and when I came through the portrait, I just aimed a spell thinking it would stun Peter and instead I stunned you," Black explained. "You see, Peter got word of me getting the passwords and ran for it. This cat—Crookshanks, did you call him?— told me Peter had left blood on the sheets…..I supposed he bit himself….Well, faking his own death had worked once…."

These words jolted Harry to his senses.

"And why did he fake his death?" he said furiously. "Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!"

"No," Lupin said, "Harry—"

"And now you've come to finish him off!"

"Yes, I have," Black said, with an evil look at Scabbers.

"Then I should've let Snape take you!" Harry shouted.

"Harry," Lupin said hurriedly, "don't you see? All this time you've thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down—but it was the other way around, don't you see? Peter betrayed your mother and father—Sirius tracked _Peter_ down—"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Harry yelled. "HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP. HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!"

He was pointing at Black, who shook his head slowly; the sunken eyes were suddenly overbright.

"Harry…..I as good as killed them," he croaked. "I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me…..I'm to blame, I know it…The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared. I set out for your parents' house straight away. And when I saw their house, destroyed, their bodies….I realized what Peter must've done….what I'd done…."

His voice broke. He turned away.

"Enough of this," Lupin said, and there was a steely note in his voice Harry had never heard before. "There's one certain way to prove what really happened. Ron, _give me that rat_."

"What are you going to do with him if I give him to you?" Ron asked Lupin tensely.

"Force him to show himself," Lupin said. "If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him."

Ron hesitated. Then at long last, he held out Scabbers and Lupin took him. Scabbers began to squeak without stopping, twisting and turning, his tiny black eyes bulging in his head.

"Ready, Sirius?" Lupin said.

Black had already retrieved Snape's wand from the bed. He approached Lupin and the struggling rat, and his wet eyes suddenly seemed to be burning in his face.

"Together?" he said quietly.

"I think so," Lupin said, holding Scabbers tightly in one hand and his wand in the other. "On the count of three. One—two—THREE!"

A flash of blue-white light erupted from both wands; for a moment, Scabbers was frozen in midair, his small gray form twisting madly—Ron yelled— the rat fell and hit the floor. There was another blinding flash of light and then—

It was like watching a speeded-up film of a growing tree. A head was shooting upward from the ground; limbs were sprouting; a moment later, a man was standing where Scabbers had been, cringing and wringing his hands. Crookshanks was spitting and snarling on the bed; the hair on his back was standing up.

He was a very short man, hardly taller than Harry, Claire, and Hermione. His thin, colorless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald patch on top. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who has lost a lot of weight in a short time. His skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers's fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes. He looked around at them all, his breathing fast and shallow. Harry saw his eyes dart to the door and back again.

"Well, hello, Peter," Lupin said pleasantly, as though rats frequently erupted into old school friends around him. "Long time, no see."

"S—Sirius….R-Remus…." Even Pettigrew's voice was squeaky. Again, his eyes darted toward the door. "My friends….my old friends…."

Black's wand arm rose, but Lupin seized him around the wrist, gave him a warning look, then turned again to Pettigrew, his voice light and casual.

"We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed—"

"Remus," Pettigrew gasped, and Harry could see beads of sweat breaking out over his pasty face, "you don't believe him, do you….? He tried to kill me, Remus…"

"So we've heard," Lupin said, more coldly. "I'd like to clear up one or two little matters with you, Peter, if you'd be so—"

"He's come to try and kill me again!" Pettigrew squeaked and suddenly, pointing at Black, and Harry saw that he used his middle finger, because his index was missing. "He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me too…..You've got to help me, Remus…."

Black's face looked more skull-like than ever as he stared at Pettigrew with his fathomless eyes.

"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out," Lupin said.

"Sorted things out?" Pettigrew squealed, looking wildly about him once more, eyes taking in the boarded windows and, again, the only door. "I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!"

"You knew Sirius was going to break out of Azkaban?" Lupin said, his brow furrowed. "When nobody has ever done it before?"

"He's got dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!" Pettigrew shouted shrilly. "How else did he get out of there? I suppose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught him a few tricks!"

Black started to laugh, a horrible, mirthless laugh that filled the whole room.

"Voldemort, teach me tricks?" he said.

Pettigrew flinched as though Black had brandished a whip at him.

"What, scared to hear your old master's name?" Black said. "I don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?"

"Don't know what you mean, Sirius—" Pettigrew muttered his breathing faster than ever. His whole face was shining with sweat now.

"You haven't been hiding from me for twelve years," Black said. "You've been hiding from Voldemort's old supporters. I heard things in Azkaban, Peter….They all think you're dead, or you'd have to answer to them…..I've heard them screaming all sorts of things in their sleep. Sounds like they think the double-crosser double-crossed them. Voldemort went to the Potters' on your information….and Voldemort met his downfall there. And not all Voldemort's supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they? There are still plenty out here, biding their time, pretending they've seen the error of their ways….If they ever got wind that you were still alive, Peter—"

"Don't know….what you're talking about…," Pettigrew said again, more shrilly than ever. He wiped his face on his sleeve and looked up at Lupin. "You don't believe this—this madness, Remus—"

"I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat," Lupin said evenly.

"Innocent, but scared!" Pettigrew squealed. "If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban—the spy, Sirius Black!"

Black's face contorted.

"How dare you," he frowned, sounding suddenly like the bear-sized dog he had been. "I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people who were stronger and more powerful than myself? But you, Peter—I'll never understand why I didn't see you were the spy from the start. Carina used to always be wary of you and I guess we should've been too. You always liked big friends who'd look after you, didn't you? It used to be us….me, Carina, and Remus…and James…"

Pettigrew wiped his face again; he was almost panting for breath. "Me, a spy….must be out of your mind….never….don't know how you can say such a—"

"Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it," Black hissed, so venomously that Pettigrew took a step backward. "I thought it was the perfect plan….a bluff…Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they'd use a weak, talentless thing like you….It must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters."

Pettigrew was muttering distractedly, pacing back and forth and eyes darting toward the windows and the doors.

"Professor Lupin?" Hermione said timidly. "Can—can I say something?"

"Certainly, Hermione," Lupin said courteously.

"Well—Scabbers—I mean, this—this man—he's been sleeping in Harry's dormitory for three years. If he's working for the You-Know-Who, how come he never tried to hurt Harry before now?"

"There!" Pettigrew said shrilly, pointing at Ron with his maimed hand. "Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair of Harry's head! Why should I?"

"I'll tell you why," Black said. "Because you never did anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for you. Voldemort's been in hiding for fifteen years, they say he's half dead. You weren't about to commit a murmur right under Albus Dumbledore's nose, for a wreck of a wizard who'd lost all of his power, were you? You'd want to be quite sure he was the biggest bully in the playground before you went back to him, wouldn't you? Why else did you find a wizard family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for news, weren't you, Peter? Just in case your old protector regained strength, and it was safe to rejoin him….."

Pettigrew opened his mouth and closed it several times. He seemed to have lost the ability to talk.

"Er— Mr. Black—Sirius?" Hermione said.

Black jumped at being addressed like this and stared at Hermione as though he had never seen anything quite like her.

"If you don't mind me asking, how—how did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?"

"Thank you!" Pettigrew gasped, nodding frantically at her. "Exactly! Precisely what I—"

But Lupin silenced him with a look. Black was frowning slightly at Hermione, but not as though he were annoyed with her. He seemed to be pondering the answer.

"I don't know how I did it," he said slowly. "I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the dementors couldn't suck it out of me….but it kept me sane and knowing who I am…helped me keep my powers…so when it all became….too much…I could transform in my cell…become a dog. Dementors can't see, you know…" He swallowed. "They feel their way toward people by feeding off their emotions….They could tell that my feelings were less—less human, less complex when I was a dog….but they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away from me without a wand….But then I saw Peter in that picture…..I realized he was at Hogwarts with Harry…perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again…."

Pettigrew was shaking his head, mouthing noiselessly, but staring all the while at Black as though hynoptized.

"….ready to strike at the moment he could be sure of allies….and deliver the last Potter to them. If he gave them Harry, who'd dare say he'd betrayed Lord Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honors…..So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive… It was as if someone had lit a fire in my head, and the dementors couldn't destroy it….It wasn't a happy feeling….it was an obsession…but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind. Then, one night this women opened my cell door and she said to me, "It's time to let the dog out of its cage" and then she disappeared. At first I thought I was starting to lose my mind, but then I realized the door was still open and I ignored what I saw and slipped past the dementors as a dog….It's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions that they were confused….I was thin, very thin….thin enough to slip through the bars….I swam as a dog back to the mainland…I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog. I've been living in the forest ever since, except when I came to watch the Quidditch, of course. You fly as well as your father did, Harry….."

He looked at Harry, who did not look away.

"Believe me," Black croaked. "Believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them."

And at long last, Harry believed him. Throat too tight to speak, he nodded.

"No!"

Pettigrew had fallen to his knees as though Harry's nod had been his own death sentence. He shuffled forward on his knees, groveling, his hands clasped in front of him as though praying.

"Sirius—it's me…..it's Peter….your friend….you wouldn't…"

Black kicked out and Pettigrew recoiled.

"There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them," Black said.

"Remus!" Pettigrew squeaked, turning to Lupin instead, writhing imploringly in front of him. "You don't believe this….wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?"

"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter," Lupin said. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" he said casually over Pettigrew's head.

"Forgive me, Remus," Black said.

"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," Lupin said, who was now pulling up his sleeves. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing_ you_ were the spy?"

"Of course," Black said, and the ghost of a grin flitted across him gaunt face. He, too, began rolling up his sleeves. "Shall we kill him together?"

"Yes, I think so," Lupin said grimly.

"You wouldn't…you won't…," Pettigrew gasped. And he scrambled around to Ron.

"Ron…haven't I been a good friend…a good pet? You won't let them kill me, Ron, will you….you're on my side, aren't you?"

But Ron was staring at Pettigrew with the utmost revulsion.

"I let you sleep in my _bed_!" he said.

"Kind boy….kind master…."Pettigrew crawled around Ron, "you won't let them do it….I was your rat….I was a good pet…."

"If you made a better rat than a human, that's_ not_ something you should be proud of," Claire said harshly. Pettigrew ignored her. Ron, going still paler with pain, wrenched his broken leg out of Pettigrew's reach. Pettigrew turned on his knees, staggered forward, and seized the hem of Hermione's robes.

"Sweet girl….clever girl….you—you won't let them…..Help me….."

Hermione pulled her robes out of Pettigrew's clutching hands and backed away against the wall, looking horrified. Pettigrew then turned to Claire and Harry, kneeling and trembling uncontrollably at their feet. He turned his head to Claire.

"You look just like your mother…..Claire, Carina wouldn't have let this happen…." Pettigrew then turned his head to Harry. "Harry….Harry…you look just like your father…just like him…Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed….James would've understood, Harry….he would have shown me mercy….Carina would've shown me mercy…."

Both Black and and Lupin strode forward, seizing Pettigrew's shoulders, and threw him backward onto the floor. He sat there, twitching with terror, staring up at them.

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO THEM?" Black roared at Pettigrew. "HOW DARE YOU FACE THEM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HARRY AND CARINA IN FRONT OF CLAIRE?"

Pettigrew trembled in fear.

"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort," Black said, who was shaking too, but with anger. "Do you deny it?"

Pettigrew burst into tears. It was horrible to watch, like an oversized, balding baby, cowering on the floor.

"Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord….you have no idea…he has weapons you can't imagine….I was scared, Sirius, I was never brave like you and Remus and James. I never meant it to happen….He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me—"

"DON'T LIE!" Black bellowed. "YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!"

"He—he was taking over everywhere!" Pettigrew gasped. "Wh-what was there to be gained by refusing him?"

"What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed?" Black said, with a terribly fury in his face. "Only innocent lives, Peter!"

"You don't understand!" Pettigrew whined. "He would have killed me, Sirius!"

"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" Black roared. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"

Black and Lupin stood shoulder to shoulder, wands raised.

"You should have realized," Lupin said quietly, "if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Good-bye, Peter."

Hermione covered her face with her hands and turned to the wall. Claire was still in shock of everything they'd just discovered. Then—

"NO!" Harry yelled. He ran forward, placing himself in front of Pettigrew, facing the wands. "You can't kill him," he said breathlessly. "You can't."

Black and Lupin both looked staggered.

"Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents," Black snarled. "This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die too, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than your whole family."

"I know," Harry panted. "We'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the dementors….He can go to Azkaban….but don't kill him."

"Harry!" Pettigrew gasped, and he flung his arms around Harry's knees. "You—thank you—it's more than I deserve—thank you—"

"Get off me," Harry spat, throwing Pettigrew's hands off him in disgust. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it because—I don't reckon my dad would've wanted them to become killers—just for you."

It was silent for a few moments. No one moved or a made a sound except Pettigrew, whose breath was coming in wheezes as he clutched his chest. Black and Lupin were looking at each other. Then, with one movement, they lowered their wands.

"You're the only person who has the right to decided, Harry," Black said. "But think….think what he did…."

"He can go to Azkaban," Harry repeated. "If anyone deserves that place, he does…."

Pettigrew was still wheezing behind him.

"Very well," Lupin said. "Stand aside, Harry."

Harry hesistated.

"I'm going to tie him up," Lupin said. "That's all, I swear."

Harry stepped out of the way. Thin cords shot from Lupin's wand this time, and next moment, Pettigrew was wriggling on the floor, bound and gagged.

"But if you transform, Peter," Black growled, his own wand pointing at Pettigrew too, "we_ will_ kill you. You agree, Harry?"

Harry looked down at the pitiful figure on the floor and nodded so that Pettigrew could see him.

"Right," Lupin said, suddenly businesslike. "Ron, I can't mend bones nearly as well as Madam Pomfrey, so I think it's best if we just strap your leg up until we can get you to the hospital wing."

He hurried over to Ron, bent down, tapped Ron's leg with his wand, and muttered, _"Ferula."_ Bandages spun up Ron's leg, strapping it tightly to a splint. Lupin helped him to his feet; Ron put his weight gingerly on the leg and didn't wince.

"That's better," he said. "Thanks."

"What about Professor Snape?" Hermione said in a small voice, looking down at Snape's prone figure.

"We could just leave him here," Claire suggested earning a glare from Hermione. "I was just kidding, geez."

"There's nothing seriously wrong with Snape," Lupin said, bending over Snape and checking his pulse. "You were just a little—overenthusiastic. Still out cold. Er—perhaps it will be best if we don't revive him until we're safely back in the castle. We can take him like this…."

He muttered, _"Mobilicorpus."_ As though invisible strings were tied to Snape's wrists, neck, and knees, he was pulled into a standing position, head still lolling unpleasantly, like a grotesque puppet. He hung a few inches above the ground, his limp feet dangling. Lupin picked up the Invisibilty Cloak and tucked it safely into his pocket.

"And two of us should be chained to this," Black said, nudging Pettigrew with his toe. "Just to make sure."

"I'll do it," Lupin said.

"And me," Ron said savagely, limping forward.

Black conjured heavy manacles from thin air; soon Pettigrew was upright again, left arm chained to Lupin's right, right arm to Ron's left. Ron's face was set. He seemed to have taken Scabbers's true identity as a personal insult. Crookshanks leapt lightly off the bed and led the way out of the room, his bottlebrush tail held jauntily high.

"Hermione," Claire said as they followed Crookshanks out of the room. "Your cat is full of himself."

* * *

><p><em>What did you think? Who do you think the woman was who opened Black's cell door? Post your thoughts in the review section and any other ideastheories you have about the story. This book is coming to an end. There's about four to six chapters left depending on what I take out, leave in, and add in. Surprise coming soon. Thank you to the new follower: shin18theOtakubooklover._

_Reply to Review:_

_Rainpelt the Doctor: Thank you! You're correct Carina's Animagus form was a wolf. A black wolf with blue eyes. Here's a link to what her Animagus form looks like: _ pin/276478864598681944/


	20. Pettigrew Escapes and Dementors Again

Chapter 20: Pettigrew Escapes and Dementors Again

Harry had never been part of a stranger group. Crookshanks led the way down the stairs; Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron went next, looking like entrants in a six-legged race. Next came Professor Snape, drifting creepily along, his toes hitting each stair as they descended, held up by his own wand, which was being pointed at him by Sirius. Harry, Claire, and Hermione brought up the rear.

Getting back to the tunnel was difficult. Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron had to turn sideways to manage it; Lupin still had Pettigrew covered with his wand. Harry could see them edging awkwardly along the tunnel in single file. Crookshanks was still in the lead. Hermione had gone up ahead to help with Pettigrew while Harry and Claire stayed with Black. Black went in the tunnel first, followed by Harry and Claire. Black was still making Snape drift along ahead of them; he kept bumping his lolling head on the low ceiling. Claire and Harry had the impression Black was making no eftort to prevent this.

"You know what this means?" Black said abruptly to Claire and Harry as they made their slow progress along the tunnel. "Turning Pettigrew in?"

"You're free," Harry said.

"Yes….," Black said. "But I'm also—I don't know if anyone ever told you—I'm your godfather."

"Yeah, I knew that," Harry said.

"Well…..your parents appointed me your guardian," Black said stiffly. "If anything happened to them…."

Harry waited. Did Black mean what he thought he meant?

Black then turned to Claire. "And of course you can come to Claire. After all, you are my niece. I mean I'd understand if you didn't want to leave the Weasley's. They're good people. And Harry I understand if you want to stay with your aunt and uncle….But….well….think about it. The both of you. Once my name's cleared….if you wanted a….a different home….or a place to visit…."

Some sort of explosion took place in the pit of Harry's stomach.

"What—live with you?" he said, accidentally cracking his head on a bit of rock protruding from the ceiling. "Leave the Dursleys?"

"Of course, I thought you wouldn't want to," Black said quickly. "I understand, I just thought I'd—"

"Are you insane?" Harry said, his voice easily as croaky as Black's.

"Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house? When can I move in?"

Black turned right around to look at him; Snape's head was scraping the ceiling but Black didn't seem to care.

"You want to?" he said. "You mean it?"

"Yeah, I mean it!" Harry said.

Black's gaunt face broke into the first true smile Harry had seen upon it. The difference it made was startling, as though a person ten years younger were shining through the starved mask; for a moment, he was recognizable as the man who had laughed at Harry's parents' wedding.

"And you Claire?" Black turned to Claire waiting for an answer.

Claire smiled brightly and Harry could tell that Claire had inherited her smile from the Black side of the family. "Of course! You have thirteen years to make up for, _Uncle_."

The three of them did not speak again until they had reached the end of the tunnel. Crookshanks darted up first; he had evidently pressed his paw to the knot of the trunk, because Lupin, Pettigrew, Ron, and Hermione clambered upward without any sound of savaging branches.

Black saw Snape up through the hole, then stood back for Harry and Claire to pass. At last, all of them were out.

The grounds were very dark now; the only light came from the distant windows of the castle. Without a word, they set off. Pettigrew was still wheezing and occasionally whimpering. Harry's mind was buzzing. He was going to leave the Dursleys. He was going to live with Sirius Black, his parents' best friend and with his best friend Claire….He felt dazed….What would happen when he told the Dursleys he was going to live with the convict they'd seen on television….!

"One wrong move, Peter," Lupin said threateningly ahead. His wand was still pointed sideways at Pettigrew's chest.

Silently they tramped through the grounds, the castle lights growing slowly larger. Snape was still drifting weirdly ahead of Black, his chin bumping on his chest. And then—

A cloud shifted. There were suddenly dim shadows on the ground. Their party was bathed in moonlight.

Snape collided with Lupin, Pettigrew, Ron, and Hermione who had stopped abruptly. Black froze. He flung out one arm to make Claire and Harry stop.

Harry could see Lupin's silhouette. He had gone rigid. Then his limbs began to shake.

"Oh, my—" Hermione gasped, backing away from Lupin to where Claire and Harry were. "He didn't take his potion tonight! He's not safe!"

"Run," Black whispered. "Run. Now."

But Harry and Claire couldn't run. Ron was chained to Pettigrew and Lupin. They leapt forward but Black stood in front of them and kept them at bay.

"Leave it to me—RUN!"

There was a terrible snarling noise. Lupin's head was lengthening. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws. Crookshanks's hair was on end again; he was backing away—

As the werewolf reared, snapping its long jaws, Sirius disappeared from Claire's and Harry's side. He had transformed. The enormous, bearlike dog bounded forward. As the werewolf wrenched itself free of the manacle binding it, the dog seized it about the neck and pulled it backward, away from Ron and Pettigrew. They were locked, jaw to jaw, claws ripping at each other—

Harry stood, transfixed by the sight, too intent upon the battle to notice anything else. It was Hermione's scream that alerted him—

Pettigrew had dived for Lupin's dropped wand. Ron, unsteady on his bandaged leg, fell. There was a bang, a burst of light— and Ron lay motionless on the ground. Another bang— Crookshanks flew into the air and back to the earth in a heap. Claire took out her wand and yelled,_ "Stupefy!" _but Pettigrew reflected and shouted,_ "Impediment!" _which knocked Claire off her feet and onto her back. Hermione went over to Claire and helped her up.

_"__Expelliarmus!" _Harry yelled, pointing his own wand at Pettigrew; Lupin's wand flew high into the air and out of sight. "Stay where you are!" Harry shouted, running forward.

Too late. Pettigrew had transformed. Harry saw his bald tail whip through the manacle on Ron's outstretched arm and heard a scurrying through the grass.

There was a howl and a rumbling growl; Harry turned to see the werewolf taking flight; it was galloping into the forest—

"Sirius, he's gone, Pettigrew transformed!" Harry yelled.

Black was bleeding; there were gashes across his muzzle and back, but at Harry's words he scrambled up again, and in an instant, the sound of his paws faded to silence as he pounded away across the grounds.

Harry, Claire, and Hermione dashed over to Ron.

"What did he do to him?" Hermione whispered. Ron's eyes were only half-closed, his mouth hung open; he was definitely alive, they could hear him breathing, but he didn't seem to recognize them.

"I don't know….."

Harry looked desperately around. Black and Lupin both gone….they had no one but Snape for company, still hanging, unconscious, in midair.

"We'd better get them up to the castle and tell someone," Harry said, pushing his hair out of his eyes, trying to think straight. "Come—"

"But then, from beyond the range of their vision, they heard a yelping, a whining: a dog in pain…..

"Sirius," Harry muttered, sharing a worried look with Claire then staring into the darkness.

He had a moment's indecision, but there was nothing they could do for Ron at the moment, and but the sound of it, Black was in trouble—

Harry set off at a run, Claire and Hermione right behind him. The yelping seemed to be coming from the ground near the edge of the lake. They pelted toward it, and Harry, running flat out, felt the cold without realizing what it must mean—

The yelping stopped abruptly. As they reached the lakeshore, they saw why—Sirius had turned back into a man. He was crouched on all fours, his hands over his head.

_"__Nooo,"_ he moaned_. "Noooo….please…."_

"Harry," Claire said, looking up in the sky above the lake. "It looks like we've got some company."

And then Harry saw them. Dementors, at least a hundred of them, gliding in a black mass around the lake toward them. He spun around, the familiar, icy cold penetrating his insides, fog starting to obscure his vision; more were appearing out of the darkness on every side; they were encircling them…..

"Claire, Hermione, think of something happy!" Harry yelled, raising his wand, blinking furiously to try and clear his vision, shaking his head to rid it of the faint screaming that had started inside it—

_I'm going to live with my godfather. I'm leaving the Dursleys._

He forced himself to think of Black, and only Black, and began to chant: _"Expecto patronum! Expecto patronum!"_

Black gave a shudder, rolled over, and lay motionless on the ground, pale as death.

_He'll be all right. I'm going to go and live with him._

_"__Expecto patronum! _Claire, Hermione, help me! _Expecto patronum-"_

"Expecto p-patronum," Claire said and a small light emitted from the end of her wand before it disappeared.

_"__Expecto—" _Hermione whispered, _"expecto—expecto—" _

But Hermione couldn't do it. The dementors were closing in, barely ten feet from them. They formed a solid wall around Harry, Claire, and Hermione, and were getting closer…..

_"__EXPECTO PATRONUM!" _Harry yelled, trying to block the screaming from his ears._ "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"_

A thin wisp of silver escaped his wand and hovered like mist before him. At the same moment, Harry felt Hermione collapse next to him.

"And then there were two…." Claire said.

Harry looked over at Claire and saw she was struggling as much as he was to not pass out. They were both thinking the same thing; they were alone….._completely alone….._

_"__Expecto—expecto patronum—"_

Harry felt his knees hit the cold grass. Fog was clouding his eyes. With a huge effort, he fought to remember—_Sirius was innocent—innocent—We'll be okay—I'm going to live with him—_

_"__Expecto patronum!"_ he gasped.

By the feeble light of his formless Patronus, he saw a dementor halt, very close to him. It couldn't walk through the cloud of silver mist Harry had conjured. A dead, slimy hand slid out from under the cloak. It made a gesture as though to sweep the Patronus aside.

"No—no—" Harry gasped. "He's innocent….._expecto—expecto patronum—"_

He heard Claire fall to the ground. He could feel them watching him, hear their rattling breath like an evil wind around him. The nearest dementor seemed to be considering him. Then it raised both its rotting hands—and lowered its hood.

Where there should have been eyes, there was only thin, gray scabbed skin, stretched blankly over empty sockets. But there was a mouth….a gaping, shapeless hole, sucking the air with the sound of a death rattle.

A paralyzing terror filled Harry so that he couldn't move or speak. His Patronus flickered and died.

White fog was blinding him. He had to fight…_expect patronum_….he couldn't see…and in the distance, he heard the familiar screaming…._expecto patronum_….he groped in the mist for Sirius, and found his arm…they weren't going to take him….

But a pair of strong, clammy hands suddenly attached themselves around Harry's neck. They were forcing his face upward….He could feel its breath…It was going to get rid of him first…He could feel its putrid breath…His mother was screaming in his ears….She was going to be the last thing he ever heard—

And then, through the fog that was drowning him, he thought he saw a silvery light growing brighter and brighter….He felt himself fall forward onto the grass….Facedown, too weak to move, sick and shaking, Harry opened his eyes. The dementor must have released him. The blinding light was illuminating the grass around him…The screaming had stopped, the cold was ebbing way…

Something was driving the dementors back….It was circling around him and Black and Claire and Hermione….They were leaving….The air was warm again…..

With every ounce of strength he could muster, Harry raised his head a few inches and saw an animal amid the light, galloping away across the lake….Eyes blurred with sweat, Harry tried to make out what it was….It was as bright as a unicorn….Fighting to stay conscious, Harry watched it canter to a halt as it reached the opposite shore. For a moment, Harry saw, by its brightness, somebody welcoming it back….raising his hand to pat it….someone who looked strangely familiar…..but it couldn't be…..

Harry didn't understand. He couldn't think anymore. He felt the last of his strength leave him, and his head hit the ground as he fainted.

* * *

><p><em>Only a few more chapters until the surprise. What do you think it will be? I'm in the process of writing the last chapters and I can't wait for you all to read them.<em>

_Reply to Reviews:_

_auknowntimelord: Possibly..._

_Natekleh: Yea, but remember I'm changing up the ending to this book a bit so it might not be completely sad._

_NicoleR85: Thanks and here's the new chapter!_

_Ghostwriter71: Me neither. I know how you feel about Snape. I definitely agree with you and I still don't understand why James and Sirius were so harsh to him. And I totally agree that he would've ended up with Lily had he not called her a mudblood. I think Snape's character is one of my favorites because his character is the most humane-like one. He made mistakes and he sort of punishes himself for those mistakes which is a human tendency. When we mess up we feel the need to dwell on it and punish ourselves for it and making ourselves miserable. I'll admit I watched the movies first but once I started the books I fell in love with the books. There is soooooooo much missing from the movies that, at least in my opinion, are important to the story. _

_Timewalker: Good guess. And yes I knew that in the original Pettigrew escapes and Sirius lives life as a fugitive. I'll say that I'm strongly considering letting Sirius be free. You'll have to wait and see I guess..._

_Rukia-Chappy: Glad you enjoyed the last chapter._

_Teckie De Cool: I'm glad you see that Claire isn't just a add in character (at least she's not suppose to be). I try to make her a part of the plot and not some meaningless character. Good guess about who opened Black's cell._

_Pendant: Thank you._

_Rainpelt the Doctor: Thank you and I'll post the link on my profile page._

_HELLO-A: Thank you! Good guess about who opened Black's cell._

_Timewalker: It's alright and you'll find out later on who opened Black's cell._


	21. The Time-Turner

Chapter 21: The Time-Turner

"Shocking business…shocking….miracle none of them died….never heard the like….by thunder, it was lucky you were there, Snape…"

"Thank you, Minister."

"Order of Merlin, Second Class, I'd say. First Class, if I can wangle it!"

"Thank you very much indeed, Minister."

"Nasty cut you've got there…..Black's work, I suppose?"

"As a matter of fact, it was Potter, Smith, Weasley, and Granger, Minister…."

_"No!"_

"Black had bewitched them, I saw it immediately. A Confundus Charm, to judge by their behavior. They seemed to think there was a possibility he was innocent. They weren't responsible for their actions. On the other hand, their interference might have permitted Black to escape…They obviously thought they were going to catch Black single-handed. They've got away with a great deal before now…I'm afraid it's given them a rather high opinion of themselves….and of course Potter has always been allowed an extraordinary amount of license by the headmaster—"

"Ah, well, Snape…..Harry Potter, you know…we've all got a bit of a blind spot where he's concerned."

"And yet—is it good for him to be given so much special treatment? Personally, I try and treat him like any other student. And any other student would be suspended—at the very least— for leading his friends into such danger. Consider, Minister—against all school rules—after all the precautions put in place for his protection—out-of-bounds, at night, consorting with a werewolf and a murderer— and I have reason to believe he has been visiting Hogsmeade illegally too with Smith…."

"Well, well…..we shall see, Snape, we shall see…..The boy has undoubtedly been foolish…."

Harry lay listening with his eyes shut tight. He felt very groggy. The words he was hearing seemed to be traveling very slowly from his ears to his brain, so that it was difficult to understand….His limbs felt like lead; his eyelids too heavy to lift….He wanted to lie here, on this comfortable bed, forever….

"What amazes me most is the behavior of the dementors…you've really no idea what made them retreat, Snape?"

"No, Minister….by the time I had come 'round they were heading back to their positions at the entrances…."

"Extraordinary. And yet Black, and Harry, and Smith, and the girl—"

"All unconscious by the time I reached them. I bound and gagged Black, naturally, conjured stretches, and brought them all straight back to the castle."

There was a pause. Harry's brain seemed to be moving a little faster, and as it did, a gnawing sensation grew in the pit of his stomach….

He opened his eyes.

Everything was slightly blurred. Somebody had removed his glasses. He was lying in the dark hospital wing. At the very end of the ward, he could make out Madam Pomfrey with her back to him, bending over a bed. Harry squinted. Ron's red hair was visible beneath Madam Pomfrey's arm.

Harry moved his head over on the pillow. In the bed to his right lay Claire. Moonlight was falling across her bed. Her eyes were open too. She looked like she was contemplating what she had just heard, and when she saw that Harry was awake, pressed a finger to her lips, then pointed to the hospital wing door. It was ajar, and the voices of Cornelius Fudge and Snape were coming through it from the corridor outside.

Madam Pomfrey now came walking over to them, carrying the largest block of chocolate they had ever seen in their life. It looked like a small boulder.

"Ah, you're awake!" she said briskly. She placed the chocolate on Harry's bedside table and began breaking it apart with a small hammer.

"How's Ron?" Claire, Hermione (who had also been awake listening to Fudge and Snape), and Harry said together.

"He'll live," Madam Pomfrey said grimly. "As for you three….you'll be staying here until I'm satisfied you're—Potter, what do you think you're doing?"

Harry was sitting up, putting his glasses back on, and packing up his wand.

"I need to see the headmaster," he said.

"Potter," Madam Pomfrey said soothingly, "it's all right. They've got Black. He's locked away upstairs. The dementors will be performing the kiss any moment now—"

"WHAT?"

Harry jumped out of bed; Claire and Hermione had done the same. But his shout had been heard in the corridor outside; next second, Cornelius Fudge and Snape had entered the ward.

"Harry, Harry, what's this?" Fudge said, looking agitated. "You should be in bed—has he had any chocolate?" he asked Madam Pomfrey anxiously.

"Minister, listen!" Harry said. "Sirius Black's innocent! Peter Pettigrew faked his own death! We saw him tonight! You can't let the dementors do that thing to Sirius, he's—"

"Harry, Harry," Fudge said shaking his head, "you're very confused, you've been through a dreadful ordeal, lie back down, now, we've got everything under control….."

"UNDER CONTROL?" Claire said. "YOU HAVE THE WRONG MAN! SIRIUS IS INNOCENT!"

"Minister, listen, please," Hermione said; she stepped in between Claire and Harry and was gazing imploringly into Fudge's face. "I saw him too. It was Ron's rat, he's an Animagus, Pettigrew, I mean, and—"

"You see, Minister?" Snape said. "Confunded, the three of them…..Black's done a very good job on them….."

"WE'RE NOT CONFUNDED!" Harry and Claire roared.

"If you'd just listen to what we have to say instead of being ignorant as—" Claire was cut off by Madam Pomfrey.

"Minister! Professor! I must insist that you leave. Potter and Smith are my patients, and they should not be distressed!"

"We're not distressed, we're trying to tell them what happened!" Harry said furiously.

The door open again. It was Dumbledore.

"Professor Dumbledore," Harry began, "Sirius Black—"

"For heaven's sake!" Madam Pomfrey said hysterically. "Is this a hospital wing or not? Headmaster, I must insist—"

"My apologies, Poppy, but I need a word with Mr. Potter, Miss Smith, and Miss Granger," Dumbledore said calmly. "I have just been talking to Sirius Black—"

"I suppose he's told you the same fairy tale he's planted in Potter's mind?" Snape spat. "Something about a rat, and Pettigrew being alive—"

"That, indeed, is Black's story," Dumbledore said, surveying Snape closely through his half-moon spectacles.

"And does my evidence count for nothing?" Snape snarled. "Peter Pettigrew was not in the Shrieking Shack, nor did I see any sign of him on the grounds."

"That was because you were knocked out, Professor!" Claire said earnestly. "You didn't arrive in time to hear—"

"Miss Smith, HOLD YOUR TONGUE!"

"Now, Snape," Fudge said, startled, "the young lady is disturbed in her mind, we must make allowances—"

"I would like to speak with Harry, Claire and Hermione alone," Dumbledore said abruptly. "Cornelius, Severus, Poppy—please leave us."

"Headmaster!" Madam Pomfrey sputtered. "They need treatment, they need rest—"

"This cannot wait," Dumbledore said. "I must insist."

Madam Pomfrey didn't seem to happy as she pursed her lips and strode away into her office at the end of the ward, slamming the door behind her. Fudge checked the time with his large gold pocket watch dangling from his waistcoat.

"The dementors should have arrived by now," he said. "I'll go and meet them. Dumbledore, I'll see you upstairs."

He crossed to the door and held it open for Snape, but Snape hadn't moved.

"You surely don't believe a word of Black's story?" Snape whispered, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore's face.

"I wish to speak to Harry, Claire, and Hermione alone," Dumbledore repeated.

Snape took a step toward Dumbledore.

"Sirius Black showed he was capable of murder at the age of sixteen," he breathed. "You haven't forgotten that, Headmaster? You haven't forgotten that he once tried to kill _me_?"

"My memory is as good as it ever was, Severus," Dumbledore said quietly.

Snape turned on his heel and marched through the door Fudge was still holding. It closed behind them, and Dumbledore turned to Harry, Claire, and Hermione. The three of them burst into speech at the same time.

"Professor, Black's telling the truth—we_ saw_ Pettigrew—"

"—he escaped when Professor Lupin turned into a werewolf—"

"—he's a rat—"

"—Pettigrew's front paw, I mean, finger, he cut it off—"

"—Pettigrew attacked Ron, it wasn't Sirius—"

But Dumbledore held up his hand and they fell quiet hoping the Dumbledore would listen to what they said.

"It is your turn to listen, and I beg you will not interrupt me, because they is very little time," he said quietly. "There is not a shred of proof to support Black's story, except your word—and the word of three thirteen-year-old wizards will not convince anybody. A street full of eyewitnesses swore they saw Sirius murder Pettigrew. I myself gave evidence to the Ministry that Sirius had been the Potters' Secret-Keeper."

"Professor Lupin can tell you—" Harry said, unable to stop himself.

"Professor Lupin is currently deep in the forest, unable to tell anyone anything. By the time he is human again, it will be too late, Sirius will be worse than dead. I might add that werewolves are so mistrusted by most of our kind that his support will count for very little— and the fact that he and Sirius are old friends—"

"But—"

"_Listen to me, Harry._ It is too late, you understand me? You must see that Professor Snape's version of events is far more convincing than yours."

"He hates Sirius," Claire said desperately. "All because of some stupid trick Sirius played on him—"

"Sirius has not acted like an innocent man. The attack on the Fat Lady—attacking you—without Pettigrew, alive or dead, we have no chance of overturning Sirius's sentence."

_"But you believe us."_

"Yes, I do," Dumbledore said quietly. "But I have no power to make other men see the truth, or to overrule the Minister of Magic…"

Claire and Harry felt as though the ground beneath them were falling sharply away. They'd grown used to the idea that Dumbledore could solve anything. They'd expect him to know the solution to their problem. But no…..their last hope was gone.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Claire asked hopefully.

"As a matter of fact, Miss Smith, there might be," Dumbledore said, his light blue eyes moving from Claire to Hermione. "what we need is more _time_."

Hermione seemed to be thinking while Claire had an epiphany. "Of course!"

"Now, pay attention," Dumbledore said, speaking very slowly and very clearly. "Sirius is locked in Professor Flitwick's office on the seventh floor. Thirteenth window from the right of the West Tower. If all goes well, you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight. But remember this, the three of you: _you must not be seen._ Miss Granger, Miss Smith, you know the law—you know what is at stake….._You—must—not—be—seen."_

Harry seemed to be the only one who had no idea what was happening. Dumbledore had turned on his heel and looked back as he reached the door.

"I am going to lock you in. It is—" he consulted his watch, "five minutes to midnight. Miss Smith, three turns should do it. Good luck."

"Good luck?" Harry repeated as the door closed behind Dumbledore. "Three turns? What's he talking about? What are we supposed to do?"

"Which one should we use?" Hermione asked Claire while Harry still had no clue what was going on.

"Well, considering you've used yours more often this year, probably yours." Claire said.

"I don't know, maybe you should do it, Claire," Hermione said. "I mean your father was the one who created it."

"So, you've had more experience. Oh, what are we doing arguing for? We're on limited time." Claire pulled out a very long, very fine gold chain from the neck of her robes.

"Are you two going to tell me what's going on?" Harry said annoyed as Claire slipped the long chain around both her's and Hermione's necks.

"Later, just, come here," Claire said urgently. _"Quick!"_

Harry moved toward her, completely bewildered. She was holding the chain out. He saw a tiny, sparkling hourglass hanging from it.

"Here—"

She had thrown the chain around his neck too.

"Ready?" Hermione said breathlessly.

"What are we doing?" Harry said, completely loss.

Claire turned the hourglass over three times.

The dark ward dissolved. Harry had the sensation that he was flying very fast, backward. A blur of colors and shapes rushed past him, his ears were pounding, he tried to yell but couldn't hear his own voice—

And then he felt solid ground beneath his feet, and everything came into focus again—

He was standing between Claire and Hermione in the deserted entrance hall and a stream of golden sunlight was falling across the paved floor from the open front doors. He looked wildly around at Claire, the chain of the hourglass cutting into his neck.

"Claire, what—?"

"In here!" Claire seized Harry's arm and dragged him across the hall to the door of a broom closet; she opened it, pushed him inside among the buckets and mops. Hermione had followed and slammed the door behind them.

"What—how—Claire, what happened?"

"Welcome to the past, Harry!" Claire said brightly, pulling the necklace off of his and Hermione's necks. "Or would it be considered the future? I suppose it would if we hadn't just been in the future and we were in the present which is now the past."

Harry had a blank look on his face. "What?"

Claire waved her hand dismissively. "It's complicated. Time-travelling is a bunch of wibbly, wobbly, timey, wimey nonsense."

"What Claire's trying to say," Hermione began, "is that we've traveled back in time. Three hours back to be exact…."

Harry found his own leg and gave it a very hard pinch. It hurt a lot, which seemed to rule out the possibility that he was having a very bizarre dream.

"But—"

"Shh!" Claire said suddenly. "Listen! Someone's coming! I think it might be us!"

Claire had her ear pressed against the cupboard door.

"Footsteps across the hall…..yep, I think it's us going down to Hagrid's!"

"Are you telling me," Harry whispered, "that we're here in this cupboard and we're out there too?"

"Yep," Claire said, her ear still glued to the cupboard door.

Hermione also put her ear up against the cupboard door.

"Yes, it's definitely us. It doesn't sound like more than four people….and we're walking slowly because we're under the Invisibility Cloak—"

She broke off, still listening intently.

"We've gone down the front steps….."

Hermione sat down on an upturned bucket, looking desperately anxious while Claire took her ear off the door, but Harry wanted a few questions answered.

"Where did you two _get_ that hourglass thing?"

"It's called a Time-Turner," Claire whispered.

"We got it on our first day back from Professor McGonagall. You see Claire's taking an extra elective while I'm taking multiple. Without it, we wouldn't have gotten to our extra classes. Professor McGonagall made us swear not to tell anyone. She had to write all sorts of letters to the Ministry of Magic so we could have one. She told them that I was a model students and I'd never, ever use it for anything except my studies. However, once she told them about Claire they decided they'd give us each one."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"It turns out my father was the one who created the Time-Turner." Claire said.

"What?" Harry said in shock.

"Yep," Claire said. "So, that's how we've been doing it. We'd go back an hour and be able to attend both of our classes."

"What I don't understand is," Hermione began, a hint of frustration in her voice, "why Dumbledore told us to go back three hours? How's that going to help Sirius?"

Harry stared at her shadowy face.

"There must be something that happened around now he wants us to change," he said slowly. "What happened? We were walking down to Hagrid's three hours ago…."

"This is three hours ago, and we are walking down at Hagrid's," Hermione said. "We just heard ourselves leaving…."

Harry frowned; he felt as though he were screwing up his whole brain in concentration.

"Well," Claire said, thinking intently, "Dumbledore said we could save more than one innocent life. Right now, depending whether or not your thinking from past or future tense, we're going to Hagrid's to check on him about Buck—"

"That's it!" Harry said suddenly. "We're going to save Buckbeak!"

"But—how will that help Sirius?" Hermione asked.

"Dumbledore said—he just told us where the window is—the window of Flitwick's office! Where they've got Sirius locked up! We've got to fly Buckbeak up to the window and rescue Sirius! Sirius can escape on Buckbeak—they can escape together!"

"Of course!" Claire said, looking excited and happy. "It makes perfect sense!"

However, Hermione seemed to look a bit terrified.

"If we manage that without being seen," Hermione said. "it'll be a miracle!"

"We've done some things the past three years that seemed to be miracles. They were about as terrifying and dangerous as this and we were able to accomplish them and now we will do it yet again. I don't know about you two, but I'm not going to stand around let innocent lives be lost because of a schoolboy grudge and a rich man's pocket when there's a chance we can save them." Claire said.

"Claire's right, Hermione," Harry agreed. "We've just got to try."

Harry then pressed his ear against the door again.

"Doesn't sound like anyone's there…..Come on, let's go…."

Harry pushed open the closet door. The entrance hall was deserted. As quietly and quickly as they could, they darted out of the closet and down the stone steps. The shadows were already lengthening, the tops of the trees in the Forbidden Forest gilded once more with gold.

"If anyone's looking out the window—" Hermione squeaked, looking up at the castle behind them.

"We'll run for it," Claire said determinedly.

Harry nodded. "Straight into the Forbidden Forest, right? We'll have to hide behind a tree or something and keep a lookout—"

"Okay, but we'll go around by the greenhouses!" Hermione said breathlessly. "We need to keep out of sight of Hagrid's front door, or we'll see us! We must be nearly at Hagrid's by now!"

Harry was still trying to get used to what that meant as he set off at a sprint, Claire and Hermione behind him. They tore across the vegetable gardens to the greenhouses, paused for a moment behind them, then set off again, fast as they could, skirting around the Whomping Willow, tearing toward the shelter of the forest….

Safe in the shadows of the trees, Harry turned around; seconds later, Claire and Hermione arrived beside him, panting.

"You know, I should be used to running with all the danger we get in, but I'm not," Claire panted.

"Right," Hermione gasped, ignoring Claire's statement. "We need to sneak over to Hagrid's…..Keep out of sight, Harry, Claire…."

They made their way silently through the trees, keeping to the very edge of the forest. Then, as they glimpsed the front of Hagrid's house, they heard a knock upon his door. They moved quickly behind a wide oak trunk and peered out from either side. Hagrid had appeared in his doorway, shaking and white, looking around to see who had knocked. And Harry heard his own voice.

"It's us. We're wearing the Invisibility Cloak. Let us in and we can take it off."

"Yeh shouldn've come!" Hagrid whispered. He stood back, then shut the door quickly.

"This is the weirdest thing we've ever done," Harry said fervently.

"Definitely," Claire agreed.

"Let's move along a bit," Hermione whispered. "We need to get nearer to Buckbeak!"

They crept through the trees until they saw the nervous hippogriff, tethered to the fence around Hagrid's pumpkin patch. Harry moved forward closer to Buckbeak when Claire pulled him back.

"What do you think you're doing?" she hissed. "If we steal him now, those Committee people will think Hagrid set him free! We've got to wait until they've seen he's tied outside!"

"That's going to give us about sixty seconds," Harry said. This was starting to seem impossible.

At that moment, there was a crash of breaking china from inside Hagrid's cabin. Harry remembered that was when Hermione had found Scabbers.

"Claire, Hermione," Harry said suddenly, "what if we—we just run in there and grab Pettigrew—"

"No!" Hermione said in a terrified whisper. "Don't you understand? We're breaking one of the most important wizarding laws! Nobody's supposed to change time, nobody! You heard Dumbledore, if we're seen—"

"We'd only be seen by ourselves and Hagrid!"

"Harry," Claire said. "What do you think you'd if you saw yourself bursting into Hagrid's house?"

"I'd—I'd think I'd gone mad," Harry said, "or I'd think there was some Dark Magic going on—"

"Do I really need to continue? You wouldn't understand, you might even attack yourself! Don't you see? Bad things happen to wizards who meddle with time." Claire said.

"Claire's right Harry," Hermione said. "Loads of them ended up killing their past and future selves by mistake!"

"Okay!" Harry said. "It was just an idea, I just thought—"

Claire put a hand on his shoulder. "We know Harry. Trust me, if we could of gotten Pettigrew we would've."

Hermione then nudged them both and pointed toward the castle. They could see Dumbledore, Fudge, the old Committee member, and Macnair the executioner were coming down the steps.

"We're about to come out!" Hermione breathed.

And sure enough, moments later, Hagrid's back door opened, and Harry saw himself, Ron, Claire, and Hermione walking out of it with Hagrid. It was, without a doubt, the strangest sensation of his life, seeing himself.

The three of them watched as Hagrid told their past selves to leave. Finally, they saw the past Hermione throw the invisibility cloak over their past selves. They heard the knock on Hagrid's front door, alerting them the executioner's party had arrived. Hagrid turned around and headed back into his cabin, leaving the back door ajar. Harry watched the grass flatten in patches all around the cabin and heard four pairs of feet retreating. He, Claire, Ron, and Hermione had gone….but the Harry, Claire, and Hermione hidden in the trees could now hear what was happening inside the cabin through the back door.

"Where is the beast?" came the cold voice of Macnair.

"Out—outside," Hagrid croaked.

Harry pulled his head out of sight as Macnair's face appeared at Hagrid's window, staring out at Buckbeak. Then they heard Fudge.

"We—er—have to read you the official notice of execution, Hagrid. I'll make it quick. And then you and Macnair need to sign it. Macnair, you're supposed to listen too, that's procedure—"

Macnair's face vanished from the window. It was now or never.

"Wait here," Harry whispered to Claire and Hermione. "I'll do it."

"Remember Harry, you can't be seen," Claire reminded him as he left.

"Got it," Harry replied.

Hermione and Claire stood back watching him vault the fence into the pumpkin patch. Harry approached Buckbeak as he had did during their first Care of Magical Creatures class. Buckbeak bowed then stood up again. Harry began to fumble with the knot of rope tying Buckbeak to the fence.

"Come on, Buckbeak," Harry murmured, "come on, we're going to help you. Quickly….quietly…."

Harry threw all his weight onto the rope, but Buckbeak had dug in his front feet.

"Well, let's get this over with," said the reedy voice of the Committee member from inside Hagrid's cabin. "Hagrid, perhaps it will be better if you stay inside—"

"No, I wan' ted be with him….I don' wan' him ter be alone—"

Footsteps echoed from within the cabin.

_"Buckbeak, now!"_ Harry hissed.

Harry tugged harder on the rope around Buckbeak's neck. The hippogriff began to walk, rustling its wings irritably. They were still ten feet away from the forest, in plain view of Hagrid's back door.

"One moment, please, Macnair," came Dumbledore's voice. "You need to sign too." The footsteps stopped. Harry heaved on the rope. Buckbeak snapped his beak and walked a little faster.

Hermione's and Claire's faces were sticking out from behind a tree.

"Harry, hurry!" Hermione mouthed.

Harry could still hear Dumbledore's voice talking from within the cabin. He gave the rope another wrench. Buckbeak broke into a grudging trot. They had reached the trees…..

"Quick! Quick!" Claire moaned, darting out from behind the tree, seizing the rope too and adding her weight to make Buckbeak move faster. Hermione also ran over to help them. Harry looked over his shoulder; they were now blocked from sight; they couldn't see Hagrid's garden at all.

"Stop!" he whispered to the two girls. "They might hear us—"

Hagrid's back door had opened with a bang. Harry, Hermione, Claire, and Buckbeak stood quite still; even the hippogriff seemed to be listening intently.

Silence….then—

"Where is it?" said the reedy voice of the Committee member. "Where is the beast?"

"It was tied here!" said the executioner furiously. "I saw it! Just here!"

"How extraordinary," Dumbledore said. There was a note of amusement in his voice.

"Beaky!" Hagrid said huskily.

There was a swishing noise, and the thud of an axe. The executioner seemed to have swung it into the fence in anger. And then came the howling, and this time they could hear Hagrid's words through his sobs.

"Gone! Gone! Bless his little beak, he's _gone_! Musta pulled himself free! Beaky, yeh clever boy!"

Buckbeak strain against the rope, trying to get back to Hagrid, Harry, Claire, and Hermione tightened their grip and dug their heels into the forest floor to stop him.

"Someone untied him!" the executioner was snarling. "We should search the grounds, the forest—"

"Macnair, if Buckbeak has indeed been stolen, do you really think the thief will have led him away on foot?" Dumbledore said, still sounding amused. "Search the skies, if you will….Hagrid, I could do with a cup of tea. Or a large brandy."

"O'—o' course, Professor," Hagrid said, who sounded weak with happiness, "Come in, come in….."

Harry, Claire, and Hermione listened closely. When they were sure they'd gone back in the hut, Harry whispered to the girls, "Now what?"

"We'll have to hide in here," Claire said. "We need to wait until they've gone back to the castle. Then we wait until it's safe to fly Buckbeak up to Sirius's window. He won't be there for another couple of hours."

"Oh, this is going to be difficult…." Hermione said, looking very nervous. She glanced over her shoulder into the depths of the forest. The sun was setting now.

"We're going to have to move," Harry said, thinking hard, "We've got to be able to see the Whomping Willow, or we won't know what's going on."

"Good idea," Claire said.

"Okay," Hermione said, getting a firm grip on Buckbeak's rope. "But we've got to keep out of sight, remember…."

They moved around the edge of the forest, darkness falling thickly around them, until they were hidden behind a clump of trees through which they could make out the Willow.

"There's Ron!" Harry said suddenly.

A dark figure was sprinting across the lawn and its shout echoed through the still night air.

"Get away from him—get away—Scabbers, come_ here_—"

And then they saw three more figures materialize out of nowhere. Harry watched himself, Claire, and Hermione chasing after Ron. Then he saw Ron dive.

_"Gotcha!_ Get off, you stinking cat—"

"There's Sirius!" Claire said. The great shape of the dog had bounded out from the roots of the Willow. They saw him bowl Harry over, then seize Ron….

"Looks even worse from here, doesn't it?" Harry said, watching the dog pulling Ron into the roots. "Ouch—look, I just got walloped by the tree—and so did you two—this is _weird_—"

"What were you expecting? We did travel back in time," Claire said.

The Whomping Willow was creaking and lashing out with its lower branches; they could see themselves darting here and there, trying to reach the trunk. Claire then saw her herself exclaim, _"Immobulus!"_ And then the tree froze.

"I still can't believe I didn't think of that spell," Hermione said to herself.

"And there we go….," Harry muttered, watching themselves disappear into the tree. "We're in."

The moment they disappeared, the tree began to move again. Seconds later, they heard footsteps quite close by, Dumbledore, Macnair, Fudge, and the old Committee member were making their way up to the castle.

"Of course they'd shown up after we'd gone down into the passage!" Hermione said. "If_ only_ Dumbledore had come with us…."

"Macnair and Fudge would've come too," Harry said bitterly. "I bet you anything Fudge would've told Macnair to murder Sirius on the spot…."

They watched the four men climb the castle steps and disappear from view. For a few minutes the scene was deserted. Then—

"Here comes Lupin!" Hermione said as they saw another figure sprinting down the stone steps and haring toward the Willow. Harry looked up at the sky. Clouds were obscuring the moon completely.

They watched Lupin seize a broken branch from the ground and prod the knot on the trunk. The tree stopped fighting, and Lupin, too, disappeared into the gap in its roots.

"If he'd only grabbed the cloak," Harry said. "It's just lying there…."

He turned to Hermione and Claire.

"If I just dashed out now and grabbed it, Snape'd never be able to get it and—"

"Harry, _we can't be seen_!" Hermione said.

"How can you stand this?" he asked them fiercely. "Just standing here and watching it happen?" He hesitated. "I'm going to grab the cloak!"

"Harry, _no_!" Claire seized the back of Harry's robes not a moment too soon. Just then, they heard a burst of song. It was Hagrid, making his way up to the castle, singing at the top of his voice, and weaving slightly as he walked. A large bottle was swinging from his hands.

_"See?"_ Claire whispered._ "See what would have happened?_ We've got to keep out of sight! _No, Buckbeak!"_

The hippogriff was making frantic attempts to get to Hagrid again; Harry seized his rope too, straining to hold Buckbeak back. They watched Hagrid meander tipsily up to the castle. He was gone. Buckbeak stopped fighting to get away. His head dropped sadly.

"Harry," Claire said. "I know it's hard to keep from getting involved, trust me. I want to too, but time-traveling is a very risky thing and if we change certain things then bad things could happen."

"Claire's right, Harry," Hermione agreed. "There's only certain things that we can change and those are saving Buckbeak and Sirius."

Suddenly, the castle doors flew open yet again, and Snape came charging out of them, running toward the Willow.

Harry's fists clenched as they watched Snape skid to a halt next to the tree, looking around. He grabbed the cloak and held it up.

"Get your filthy hands off it," Harry snarled under his breath.

"Shhh!"

Snape seized the branch Lupin had used to freeze the tree, prodded the knot, and vanished from view as he put on the cloak.

"So that's it," Hermione said quietly. "We're all down there…and now we've just got to wait until we come back again…."

She took the end of Buckbeak's rope and tied it securely around the nearest tree, then sat down on the dry ground, arms around her knees.

"Harry, there's something I don't understand…Why didn't the dementors get Sirius? I remember them coming, and then I think I passed out….there were so many of them…"

"Yea, Harry," Claire said, who had sat down next to Hermione on the ground. "Why didn't they?"

Harry sat down too. He explained what he'd seen; how, as the nearest dementor had lowered its mouth to Harry's, a large silver something had come galloping across the lake and forced the dementors to retreat.

Claire's and Hermione's mouth were slightly open by the time Harry had finished.

"But what was it?" Hermione asked.

"There's only one thing it could have been, to make the dementors go," Harry said. "A real Patronus. A powerful one."

"But who conjured it?" Claire asked.

Harry didn't say anything. He was thinking back to the person he'd seen on the other bank of the lake. He knew who he thought it had been…but how _could_ it have been?

"Didn't you see what they looked like?" Hermione said eagerly. "Was it one of the teachers?"

"No," Harry said. "He wasn't a teacher."

"But it must have been a really powerful wizard, to drive all those dementors away…..If the Patronus was shining so brightly, didn't it light him up? Couldn't you see—?"

"Yeah, I saw him," Harry said slowly. "But….maybe I imagined it…..I wasn't thinking straight…..I passed out right afterward…."

_"Who do you think it was?"_ Claire asked.

"I think—" Harry swallowed, knowing how strange this was going to sound. "I think it was my dad."

Harry glanced up at Claire and Hermione and saw that their mouths were fully open now. Hermione was gazing at him with a mixture of alarm and pity.

"Harry, your dad's—well—_dead_," Hermione said.

"I know that," Harry said quickly.

"You think you saw his ghost?" Claire asked.

"I don't know….no….he looked solid…."

"But then—"

"Maybe I was seeing things," Harry said. "But…from what I could see…it looked like him….I've got photos of him…."

Hermione was still looking at him as though worried about his sanity while Claire seemed to feel sorry for Harry.

"I know it sounds crazy," Harry said flatly. He turned to look at Buckbeak, who was digging his beak into the ground, apparently searching for worms. But he wasn't really watching Buckbeak.

He was thinking about his father and about his father's three oldest friends….Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs….Had all four of them been out on the grounds tonight? Wormtail had reappeared this evening when everyone had thought he was dead…. Was it so impossible his father had done the same? Had he been seeing things across the lake? The figure had been too far away to see distinctly….yet he had felt sure, for a moment, before he'd lost consciousness….

The leaves overhead rustled faintly in the breeze. The moon drifted in and out of sight behind the shifting clouds. They waited for over an hour….

"Here we come!" Hermione whispered.

She, Claire, and Harry got to their feet. Buckbeak raised his head. They saw Lupin, Ron, and Pettigrew clambering awkwardly out of the hole in the roots. Then came Hermione…then the unconscious Snape, drifting weirdly upward. Next came Harry, Claire, and Black. They all began to walk toward the castle.

Harry's heart was starting to beat very fast. He glanced up at the sky. Any moment now, that cloud was going to move aside and show the moon….

"Harry," Claire muttered, "I know what you're thinking but we've got to stay put. We can't be seen. There's isn't anything we can do…"

"So we're just going to let Pettigrew escape all over again…." Harry said quietly.

"Yes," Claire snapped. "If we try anything we'll be seen and we'll end up creating a paradox or something. Besides, how do you expect to find a rat in the dark? There's nothing we can do! We came back to help Sirius; we can't do anything else!"

_"All right!"_

The moon slid out from behind its cloud. They saw the tiny figures across the grounds stop. Then they saw movement—

"There goes Lupin," Hermione whispered. "He's transforming—"

"Hermione! Claire!" Harry said suddenly. "We've got to move!"

"How many times do we have to tell you we can't—"

"Not to interfere! Lupin's going to run into the forest, right at us!"

Hermione and Claire gasped.

"Quick!" Hermione moaned, dashing to untie Buckbeak. "Quick! Where are we going to go? Where are we going to hide? The dementors will be coming any moment—"

"Back to Hagrid's!" Claire said. "It's empty now—come on!"

They ran as fast as they could, Buckbeak cantering along behind them. They could hear the werewolf howling behind them….

The cabin was in sight; Claire skidded to the door, wrenched it open, and Harry, Hermione, and Buckbeak flashed past him; Claire threw herself in after them and bolted the door. Fang the boarhound barked loudly.

"Shh, Fang, it's us!" Hermione said, hurrying over and scratching his ears to quieten him. "That was really close!" she said to Claire and Harry.

"Yeah…"

Harry was looking out the window. It was much harder to see what was going on from here. Buckbeak seemed very happy to find himself back inside Hagrid's house. He lay down in front of the fire, folded his wings contentedly, and seemed ready for a good nap.

"I think I'd better go outside again, you know," Harry said slowly. "I can't see what's going on—we won't know when it's time—"

Claire and Hermione looked up. Their expression was suspicious.

"I'm not going to try and interfere," Harry said quickly. "But if we don't see what's going on, how're we going to know when it's time to rescue Sirius?"

"Fine," Claire said. "We'll stay here with Buckbeak."

"Just be careful, Harry," Hermione said. "There's a werewolf out there—and the dementors—"

"And don't interfere or else," Claire threatened him.

They watched him step outside. Claire and Hermione sat in silence for a few moments.

"I really hope he doesn't interfere," Hermione said.

"Knowing Harry, he probably will. Why did we let him go out there alone by the way?" Claire stated.

Hermione shrugged. "Maybe we should check to make sure he hasn't done anything."

Claire agreed and she stepped outside. She could see in the distance the lake and she spotted Harry who was running toward it.

_"Damn it,"_ Claire cursed rushing inside. "Hermione, Harry's interfering. Hurry, we have to stop him."

Hermione pulled Buckbeak, who wasn't too happy about being woken up from his nap, and they ran outside with Claire towards the lake. As they got closer, they heard Harry yell, _"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"_ They watched a blinding, dazzling, silver animal shoot out from the end of his wand. It looked like a horse at first, galloping across the black surface of the lake. The dementors were falling back, scattering, retreating into the darkness as the bright animal got near them….They were gone. The Patronus turned cantering back towards Harry across the still surface of the water. It wasn't a horse. It wasn't a unicorn, either. It was a stag. It stopped on the bank. Its hooves made no mark on the soft ground as it stared at Harry with its large, silver eyes. Slowly, it bowed its antlered head. Claire heard him mutter, _"Prongs"_ as he stretched his fingers toward the creature; the creature vanished.

_"What did we tell you about interfering Harry?"_ Claire said fiercely, making Harry jump and turn around. "You said you were only going to keep a lookout!"

"I just saved all our lives…" Harry said. "Get behind here—behind this bush—I'll explain."

Claire and Hermione listened to what had just happened with their mouths open yet again.

"Did anyone see you?" Claire asked.

"Yes, haven't you been listening?" Harry said. "_I_ saw me but I thought I was my dad! It's okay!"

"Harry, I can't believe it…" Hermione said, still in shock. "You conjured up a Patronus that drove away all those dementors! That's very, very advanced magic…."

"I knew I could do it this time," Harry said, "because I'd already done it….Does that make sense?"

"I don't know—Harry, look at Snape!"

The three of them peered around the bush at the other bank. Snape had regained consciousness. He was conjuring stretchers and lifting the limp forms of Harry, Claire, Hermione, and Black onto them. A fifth stretcher, no doubt bearing Ron, was already floating at this side. Then, wand held out in front of him, he moved them away toward the castle.

"Right, it's nearly time," Hermione said tensely, looking at her watch. "We've got about forty-five minutes until Dumbledore locks the door to the hospital wing. We've got to rescue Sirius and get back into the ward before anybody realizes we're missing…"

They waited, watching the moving clouds reflected in the lake, while the bush next to them whispered in the breeze. Buckbeak, bored, was ferreting for worms again.

"D' you reckon he's up there yet?" Harry said, checking his watch. He looked up at the castle and began counting the windows to the right of the West Tower.

"Look!" Hermione whispered. "Who's that? Someone's coming back out of the castle!"

Harry stared through the darkness. The man was hurrying across the grounds, toward one of the entrances. Something shiny glinted his belt.

"Macnair!" Claire said. "The executioner!"

"He's gone to get the dementors! This is it, Hermione, Claire." Harry said.

Harry climbed onto Buckbeak.

"Claire, go on next." Hermione said, pushing Claire forward to Buckbeak.

Claire couldn't help but notice the discreet knowing smile when Hermione did this but chose to ignore it for the time being. Claire climbed onto Buckbeak.

"What am I suppose to hold on to?" Claire said, while Hermione was climbing on Buckbeak behind Claire.

Harry's cheeks seemed to turn a light pink. "Um, just hold on to me."

Claire swear she felt her own cheeks burn with heat, but she ignored it as she wrapped her arms around waist. Hermione had just gotten on and put her arms around Claire waist.

"Ready?" Harry whispered to them. "Hold on tight—"

He nudged Buckbeak's sides with his heels.

Buckbeak soared straight into the dark air. Harry gripped his flanks with his knees, feeling the great wings rising powerfully beneath him. Harry felt a weird sensation in the bottom of his stomach as Claire had tighten her arms around his waist. Claire on the other hand, was trying to breathe as Hermione was practically suffocating her.

"Hermione, do you think you could loosen your arms a little? I mean, I don't know about you but I enjoy breathing," Claire said.

"Sorry, Claire. I'm afraid of heights." Hermione said, loosening her arms around Claire's waist. "Oh, I _really_ do not like this at all."

Claire had to disagree with Hermione. As they flew toward the tower, the full moon glowed brightly casting a light on top of the lake. It was a beautiful sight.

"It's beautiful," Claire breathed. "Do you ever wonder what's beyond our planet?"

Hermione wasn't paying attention as she had her eyes shut and was muttering "I hope we get off this thing soon." However, Harry had been listening.

"Yea," Harry said, looking at the sky full of stars and glowing moon. "What do you think's out there?"

Claire shrugged. "I guess planets and more stars and I have no doubt that there's other life forms."

Harry raised an eyebrow at Claire. "You believe in aliens?"

"Why not? The universe is pretty vast. There's bound to be others like us. I mean you can't say it's impossible. The muggles think magic is impossible, yet there is magic. So, there's got to be a possibility that there's life out there." Claire said.

The rest of the ride was silent. Harry urged Buckbeak forward. They were gliding quietly toward the upper floors of the castle….Harry pulled hard on the left-hand side of the rope, and Buckbeak turned. Harry was trying to count the windows flashing past—

"Whoa!" he said, pulling backward as hard as he could.

Buckbeak slowed down and they found themselves at a stop, unless you counted the fact that they kept rising up and down several feet as the hippogriff beat his wings to remain airborne.

"He's there!" Harry said, spotting Sirius as they rose up beside the window. He reached out, and as Buckbeak's wings fell, was able to tap sharply on the glass.

Black looked up. Harry saw his jaw drop. He leapt from his chair, hurried to the window and tried to open it, but it was locked.

"Stand back!" Hermione called to him, and she took out her wand, still gripping the back of Claire's robes with her left hand.

_"Alohomora!"_

The window sprang open.

"How—how—?" Black said weakly, staring the hippogriff.

"Get on—there's not much time," Claire said. "You've got to get out of here—the dementors are coming—Macnair's gone to get them."

Black placed a hand on either side of the window frame and heaved his head and shoulders out of it. It was very lucky he was so thin. In seconds, he had managed to fling one leg over Buckbeak's back and pull himself onto the hippogriff behind Hermione.

"Okay, Buckbeak, up!" Harry said, shaking the rope. "Up to the tower—come on!"

The hippogriff gave one sweep of its mighty wings and they were soaring upward again, high as the top of the West Tower. Buckbeak landed with a clatter on the battlements, and Harry, Claire, Hermione slid off him at once.

"Sirius, you'd better go, quick," Harry panted. "They'll reach Flitwick's office any moment, they'll find out you're gone."

Buckbeak pawed the ground, tossing his sharp head.

"What happened to the other boy? Ron?" Sirius croaked.

"He's going to be okay." Claire said quickly. "He's still out of it, but Madam Pomfrey says she'll be able to make him better. Quick—go—"

But Black was still staring at Claire and Harry.

"How can I ever thank—"

"GO!" Claire, Harry, and Hermione shouted together.

Black wheeled Buckbeak around, facing the open day.

"We'll see each other again," he said. "You are—truly your mother's daughter, Claire and you Harry are truly your father's son…."

He squeezed Buckbeak's sides with his heels. Harry, Claire, and Hermione jumped back as the enormous wings rose once more….The hippogriff took off into the air…He and his rider became smaller and smaller as Harry and Claire gazed after them…then a cloud drifted across the moon…..They were gone.

* * *

><p><em>Only two chapters left! The surprise will probably be in the next chapter. I can't wait for you to read the next chapter because well you'll have to wait and see.<em>

_Reply to Reviews:_

_Constellation15: I'm not sure yet. It shouldn't be too much longer, but I have to figure out how to slip them into the story._

_NicoleR85: Thank you!_

_Rainpelt the Doctor: Yea, I never know about my whole writing schedule. When I said that I had literally no time to write and so I wasn't sure when I was going to be able to find the time and post chapters. Now, I'm trying to manage my schedule so hopefully I'll be updating as I usually do. As far as Claire's Patronus goes I'm curious to. I'll have to research some because I think I know what I want it to be but I still have two books until that happens._

_Rukia-chappy: Thank you!_

_auknowntimelord: You'll find out later on._

_Timewalker: You never know, there's still two chapters to go. Something might happen that makes Sirius free (hint, hint)_

_Ghostwriter71: Thank you! That means so much to me!_

**_I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER OR DOCTOR WHO ONLY CLAIRE SMITH, JASON SAXTON, AND CARINA BLACK!_**


	22. Yelling at Boxes

Chapter 22: Yelling at Boxes

"Harry! Claire!"

Hermione was tugging on both their sleeves, staring at her watch. "We've got exactly ten minutes to get back down to the hospital wing without anybody seeing us—before Dumbledore locks the door—"

"Okay," Harry said, wrenching his gaze from the sky, while Claire only nodded, "let's go…."

They slipped through the doorway behind them and down a tightly spiraling stone staircase. As they reached the bottom of it, they heard voices. It sounded like Fudge and Snape. They were walking quickly along the corridor at the foot of the staircase.

"….only hope Dumbledore's not going to make difficulties," Snape was saying. "The Kiss will be performed immediately?"

"As soon as Macnair returns with the dementors. This whole Black affair has been highly embarrassing. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to informing the Daily Prophet that we've got him at last….I daresay they'll want to interview you, Snape….and once young Harry's back in his right mind, I expect he'll want to tell the Prophet exactly how you saved him…"

Harry clenched his teeth. He caught a glimpse of Snape's smirk as he and Fudge passed Harry, Clare, and Hermione's hiding place. Their footsteps died away. Harry, Claire, and Hermione waited a few moments to make sure they'd really gone, then started to run in the opposite direction. Down one staircase, then another, along another corridor—then they heard a cackling ahead.

"Peeves!" Harry muttered, grabbing Claire's and Hermione's wrists. "In here!"

They tore into a deserted classroom to their left just in time. Peeves seemed to be bouncing along the corridor in boisterous good spirits, laughing his head off.

"Oh, he's horrible," Hermione whispered, her ear to the door. "I bet he's all excited because the dementors are going to finish off Sirius…."She checked her watch. "We have three minutes left!"

They waited until Peeves's gloating voice had faded into the distance, then slid back out of the room and broke into a run again.

"Hermione, Claire—what'll happen—if we don't get back inside—before Dumbledore locks the door?" Harry panted.

"I don't want to think about it!" Hermione moaned, checking her watch again. "One minute!"

They had reached the end of the corridor with the hospital wing entrance. "I can hear Dumbledore," Claire said tensely. "Come on!"

They crept along the corridor. The door opened. Dumbledore's back appeared.

"I am going to lock you in," they heard him saying. "It is five minutes to midnight. Miss Smith, three turns should do it. Good luck."

Dumbledore backed out of the room, closed the door, and took out his wand to magically lock it. Panicking, Harry, Claire, and Hermione ran forward. Dumbledore looked up, and a wide smile appeared under the long silver mustache. "Well?" he said quietly.

"We did it!" Harry said breathlessly. "Sirius has gone, on Buckbeak…."

Dumbledore beamed at him.

"Well done, I think—" He listened intently for any sound within the hospital wing. "Yes, I think you've gone too—get inside—I'll lock you in—"

Harry, Claire, and Hermione slipped back inside the dormitory. It was empty except for Ron, who was still lying motionless in the end bed. As the lock clicked behind them, Claire, Harry, and Hermione crept back to their beds, Claire tucking the Time-Turner back under her robes. A moment later, Madam Pomfrey came striding back out of her office.

"Did I hear the headmaster leaving? Am I allowed to look after my patients now?"

She was definitely in a bad mood. Harry, Claire, and Hermione decided to accept their chocolate quietly. Madam Pomfrey stood over them, making sure they ate it. But Harry could hardly swallow. He, Claire, and Hermione were waiting, listening, their nerves jangling….And the, as the three of them took a fourth piece of chocolate from Madam Pomfrey, they heard a distant roar of fury echoing from somewhere above them….

"What was that?" Madam Pomfrey said in alarm.

Now they could hear angry voices, growing louder and louder. Madam Pomfrey was staring at the door.

"Really—they'll wake everybody up! What do they think they're doing?"

Harry was trying to hear what the voices were saying. They were drawing nearer—

"He must have Disapparated, Severus. We should have left somebody in the room with him. When this gets out—"

"HE DIDN'T DISAPPARATE!" Snape roared, now very close at hand. "YOU CAN'T APPARATE OR DISAPPARATE INSIDE THIS CASTLE! THIS—HAS—SOMETHING—TO—DO—WITH—POTTER!"

"Severus—be reasonable—Harry has been locked up—"

BAM.

The door of the hospital wing burst open.

Fudge, Snape, and Dumbledore came striding into the ward. Dumbledore alone looked calm. Indeed, he looked as though he was quite enjoying himself. Fudge appeared angry. But Snape was beside himself.

"OUT WITH IT, POTTER!" he bellowed. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"Professor Snape!" Madam Pomfrey shrieked. "Control yourself!"

"See here, Snape, be reasonable," Fudge said. "This door's been locked, we just saw—"

"THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!" Snape howled, pointing at Harry, Claire, and Hermione, His face was twisted; spit was flying from his mouth.

"Calm down, man!" Fudge barked. "You're talking nonsense!"

"YOU DON'T KNOW POTTER!" Snape shrieked. "HE DID IT, I KNOW HE DID IT—"

"That will do, Severus," Dumbledore said quietly. "Think about what you are saying. This door has been locked since I left the ward ten minutes ago. Madam Pomfrey, have these students left their beds?"

"Of course not!" Madam Pomfrey said, bristling. "I would have heard them!"

"Well, there you have it, Severus," Dumbledore said calmly. "Unless you are suggesting that Harry, Claire, and Hermione are able to be in two places at once, I'm afraid I don't see any point in troubling them further."

Snape stood there, seething, staring from Fudge, who looked thoroughly shocked at his behavior, to Dumbledore, whose eyes were twinkling behind his glasses. Snape whirled about, robes swishing behind him, and stormed out of the ward.

"Fellow seems quite unbalanced," Fudge said, staring after him. "I'd watch out for him if I were you, Dumbledore."

"Oh, he's not unbalanced," Dumbledore said quietly. "He's just suffered a severe disappointment."

"He's not the only one!" Fudge puffed. "The Daily Prophet's going to have a field day! We had Black cornered and he slipped through our fingers yet again! All it needs now is for the story of that hippogriff's escape to get out, and I'll be a laughingstock! Well…I'd better go and notify the Ministry…"

"And the dementors?" Dumbledore said. "They'll be removed from the school, I trust?"

"Oh yes, they'll have to go," Fudge said, running his fingers distractedly through his hair. "Never dreamed they'd attempt to administer the Kiss on an innocent boy…..Completely out of control….no, I'll have them packed off back to Azkaban tonight…Perhaps we should think about dragons at the school entrance…."

"Hagrid would like that," Dumbledore said, smiling at Harry, Claire, and Hermione. As he and Fudge left the dormitory, Madam Pomfrey hurried to the door and locked it again. Muttering angrily to herself, she headed back to her office.

There was a low moan from the other end of the ward. Ron had woken up. They could see him sitting up, rubbing his head, looking around.

"What—what happened?" he groaned. "Harry? Why are we in here? Where's Sirius? Where's Lupin? What's going on?"

Claire, Harry, and Hermione looked at each other.

"You two explain," Harry said to the girls, helping himself to some more chocolate.

When Harry, Claire, Ron, and Hermione left the hospital wing at noon the next day, it was to find an almost deserted castle. The sweltering heat and the end of the exams meant that everyone was taking full advantage of another Hogsmeade visit. Ron and Hermione didn't feel like going so they decided to stay with Claire and Harry. The four friends roamed the grounds, still talking about the extraordinary events of the previous night and wondering where Sirius and Buckbeak were now. They were sitting by the Black lake when a shadow fell across them. They looked up to see a very bleary-eyed Hagrid, mopping his sweaty face with one of his tablecloth-sized handkerchiefs and beaming down at them.

"Know I shouldn' feel happy, after wha' happened las' night," he said. "I mean, Black escapin' again, an' everythin'—but guess what?"

"What?" they said, pretending to be curious.

"Beaky! He escaped! He's free! Bin celebration' all night!"

"That's wonderful!" Hermione said, giving Ron a reproving look because he looked as though he was close to laughing.

"Yeah….can't've tied him up properly," Hagrid said, gazing happily out over the grounds. "I was worried this mornin', mind….thought he might met Professor Lupin on the grounds, but Lupin says he never ate anythin' las' night…."

"What?" Harry said quickly.

"Blimey, haven' yeh heard?" Hagrid said, his smile fading a little. He lowered his voice, even though there was nobody in sight. "Er—Snape told all the Slytherins this mornin'…..Thought everyone'd know by now…Professor Lupin's a werewolf, see. An' he was loose on the grounds las' night…..He's packin' now, o' course."

"He's packing?" Claire said, alarmed. "Why?"

"Leavin', isn' he?" Hagrid said, looking surprised that Claire had to ask. "Resigned firs' thing this mornin'. Says he leavin' tonight after the feast. Says he can't risk it happenin' again."

Harry and Claire scrambled to their feet.

"We're going to see him," they said to Ron and Hermione.

"But if he's resigned—"

"—doesn't sound like there's anything we can do—"

"I don't care." Claire said.

"I still want to see him." Harry said. "We'll meet up with you back here."

Lupin's office door was open. He had already packed most of his things. The grindylow's empty tank stood next to his battered old suitcase, which was open and nearly full. Lupin was bending over something on his desk and looked up only when Harry and Claire knocked on the door.

"I saw you two coming," Lupin said, smiling. He pointed to the parchment he had been poring over. It was the Marauder's Map.

"We just saw Hagrid," Harry said. "And he said you'd resigned. It's not true, is it?"

"I'm afraid it is," Lupin said. He started opening his desk drawers and taking out contents.

"Why?" Claire said. "The Ministry of Magic don't think you were helping Sirius, do they?"

Lupin crossed to the door and closed it behind them.

"No. Professor Dumbledore convinced Fudge that I was trying to save your lives." He sighed. "That was the final straw for Severus. I think the loss of the Order of Merlin hit him hard. So he—er—accidentally let slip that I am a werewolf this morning at breakfast."

"Of course he did," Claire muttered angrily.

"You're not leaving just because of that!" Harry said.

Lupin smiled wryly.

"This time tomorrow, the owls will start arriving from parents…They will not want a werewolf teaching their children, Harry. And after last night, I see their point. I could have bitten any of you…That must never happen again."

"You're the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had!" Harry said. "Don't go!"

"I agree. You actually taught us things. I think we've learned more about Defense this year than all three years combined." Claire said.

Lupin shook his head and didn't speak. He carried on emptying his drawers. Then, while Claire and Harry were trying to think of a good argument to make him stay, Lupin said, "From what the headmaster told me this morning, you both saved a lot of lives last night, Claire, Harry. And Harry I'm glad to hear you were finally able to produce a Patronus."

"How d' you know about that?" Harry said, distracted.

"What else could've driven away those dementors back?"

Harry told Lupin what had happened. When he'd finished, Lupin was smiling again.

"Yes, your father was always a stag when he transformed," he said. "You guessed right….that's why we called him Prongs."

"What about my mother?" Claire asked.

"Your mother was given the name Howl because she turned into wolf." Lupin said, throwing the last few books into his case.

He then closed the desk drawers and turned to look at them.

"Here—I brought this from the Shrieking Shack last night," he said, handing Harry back the Invisibility Cloak. "And…" He hesitated, then to Claire and held out the Marauder's Map too. "I am no longer your teacher, so I don't feel guilty about giving back this as well. It's no use to me, and I daresay you two, Ron, and Hermione will find uses for it."

Claire took the map and grinned.

"You told me Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Howl, and Prongs would've wanted to lure me out of school…..you said they'd have thought it was funny." Harry said.

"And so we would have," Lupin said, now reaching down to close his case. "I have no hesitation in saying that James and Carina would have been highly disappointed if their children had never found any of the secret passages out of the castle. Well, I have some things to take care of before I leave after tonight's feast. I will see you two later."

Claire and Harry rejoined Ron and Hermione by the Black Lake. They soon decided to go to the Gryffindor Common room.

"This year has been… interesting," Claire said, as she sat on the couch next to Harry.

"Definitely," Harry agreed.

"I wonder what next year has in store?" Claire said.

"Hopefully nothing," Ron said.

"With Harry as our friend? You're expecting a miracle." Claire teased Harry.

"You should be talking," Harry said.

Claire rolled her eyes.

They talked until it was dinner time. They walked down to the Great Hall together. On the way there, Claire spotted Jason and told them she'd meet them at the table. She didn't see the annoyed look on Harry's face as she headed over to Jason.

"Hey, Jason!" Claire greeted him.

"Hi," the tone of his voice seemed cold.

"Everything all right?" Claire asked.

"Sure," Jason said, in an emotionless tone.

"Are you sure? Because right now you seem pissed off," Claire replied.

"I said I was fine!" Jason snapped.

"Geez, ok, what's got your wand in a knot?" Claire said.

"You!" He brushed past her and ignoring her.

Claire was completely lost. What the hell did she do to make him angry? Claire headed to the Great Hall and found her Ron, Hermione, and Harry at the Gryffindor table. Claire sat down next to Harry and began putting food on her plate.

"Are you alright, Claire?" Hermione asked, noticing that Claire seemed off.

"I guess so," Claire said.

"What happened with Jason?" Hermione asked.

Thankfully, Claire didn't have to talk about this because it was at this moment that Dumbledore stood at the podium and the Great Hall fell quiet.

"Good evening!" Dumbledore greeted them. "I have a few announcements before we begin digging in. First off, I'm sure you are all well aware of Professor Lupin has decided to resign from his teaching position—"

Practically the whole hall, except the Slytherins, were gasping and saying that it wasn't possible.

"—yes, I'm afraid he will be leaving but we wish him the best of luck. Secondly, if you haven't noticed the dementors are off the grounds. They will no longer be guarding the castle. Now for my final announcement—"

Dumbledore stopped talking as an odd sound began to echo throughout the Great Hall. The sound sounded oddly familiar to Claire, as though she had heard it once before. The sound sounded like someone taking a metal sheet and scrapping it along concrete.

"What is that noise?" Hermione said.

"Don't know," Claire said absentmindedly.

It seemed to be coming from the entrance of the Great Hall. The students turned their heads toward the front of the Great Hall as something began to appear. The first thing that was clear to see was that it was the shape of a box and it was blue. Claire's heart caught in her throat as the noise stopped and the blue box became solid. It was the Police box from her dreams. The students stared in awe at the box.

"What the bloody hell is that thing?" Ron said.

"It's a Police Box," Claire said.

Suddenly, the door on the blue box opened and Peter Pettigrew literally flew out of the box and landed on the floor. He seemed to have been knocked out. The teachers and students gasped.

"It's Peter Pettigrew!" Hermione said in shock.

"But he's escaped!" Ron said.

Then a man emerged from the box wearing a pinstriped suit, trench coat, and red converse. He pulled on a pair of black glasses.

"Ha! I told you I'd get it right!" The man yelled at the box. "Welcome to Hogwarts!"

"That man's bloody looney!" Ron muttered to Claire, Hermione, and Harry. "He's yelling at a box."

Another person came out of the box, this time it was a woman with unruly, curly, black hair and familiar blue eyes.

"Yea, yea," she waved her hand dismissively. "About time you got it right, Doctor."

"Carina?" Claire, along with the other students, looked towards the teachers table to see Professor Lupin standing up and looking at the woman as though he thought it were a dream.

Carina smiled brightly. "Remus, long time no see."

* * *

><p><em>Claire's parents return! You have no idea how long I've been wanting to tell you guys when they'd come back but I just didn't want to spoil the surprise. I bet you didn't see that coming! Also, Claire's parents brought Pettigrew with them which could mean that Sirius will be a free man! What did you all think? <em>

_Reply to Reviews:_

_Rainpelt the Doctor: When I was writing it, I could definitely picture Harry just being confused while Claire and Hermione are going on about the time-turner and he's just like are you going to tell me what's going on or am I just going to be left in the dark?_

_NicoleR85: Thanks and now here's the update!_


	23. Family Reunion

Chapter 23: Family Reunion

Claire was stunned. The woman was her mother and she suspected the other man, who's name was apparently the Doctor, to be her father. Claire was snapped out of her thoughts as Pettigrew regained consciousness and tried to make a run for it. Her mother yelled,_ "Petrificus Totalus!"_ and Pettigrew froze on the spot, falling to the ground like a piece of wood.

"So, anyone going to call the Ministry and take care of that rat? I'd like it if my brother was freed by the end of the week." Carina said.

"Remus," Dumbledore said turning towards Lupin, "Why don't you inform Fudge that we have a rodent problem and to come straight away with the Aurors."

"Of course, Professor Dumbledore," Lupin said.

Lupin still seemed to be in shock as he left the Great Hall.

Dumbledore turned to the student body. "Students due to unexpected events, dinner will be held in your house common rooms this evening. Prefects, if you would please lead your housemates to their appropriate common rooms. Teachers if you would wait outside the hall please."

The prefects from each house began to usher the students out of the Great Hall. The students were still baffled by what had just occurred. Claire, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were following the rest of the Gryffindors out of the Great Hall when Dumbledore said, "Miss Smith, stay here." Claire noticed the woman and the man look at her shocked. Then Harry, Hermione, and Ron looked at Claire.

"Go on, I'll catch up later," Claire said.

The Great Hall was soon left with only Claire, the woman, the man, Dumbledore, the Police box, and a paralyzed Pettigrew lying on the ground. The woman and the man were staring at Claire.

"Professor Dumbledore," Claire said, "Why exactly am I here?"

"I think you know, Miss Smith," Dumbledore said, his blue eyes twinkling. "I'll let you three catch up."

Dumbledore left and the woman and man smiled at Claire.

"Hello, Claire. My name's the Doctor aka John Smith. I am your father." the Doctor said.

"Oh, Claire," the woman engulfed her in a hug that knocked the air out of Claire's lungs. "You've grown so much since we last saw you."

"Well, that kind of happens when you leave me for thirteen years," Claire snapped, feeling the anger towards her abandonment resurface.

_How could they just stand there and act like they did nothing wrong?_ She thought angrily to herself.

Carina noticed the sharp tone in her daughter's voice. "Claire, I know you must feel upset—"

"_That's_ an understatement," Claire muttered.

"Don't speak to me that way. I'm your mother." Carina scolded her.

"Oh, so _now_ you want to act like my mother?" Claire said furious. "No, you don't have the right to just waltz back into my life thirteen years later and pretend that you've been here for me _when you haven't_! My whole life I thought I would never see either of you again. I would always think about how I would react if you did happen to show up again. Would I be happy or upset? Well, if you couldn't tell I'm upset. Why? Because I've gone _thirteen years_ without knowing the reason why my so-called _"parents"_ just up and left me! I _deserve_ to know that much!"

"You're right," Carina said in a small voice. "You're completely right, Claire. We should've told you, but your safety was at risk."

"My safety was at risk?" Claire scoffed. "Then why'd you leave me alone?"

"It was the only way to guarantee your safety," The Doctor said.

"I don't understand," Claire said. "If I was in danger then I should've been kept with you."

Carina shook her head. "Claire, it isn't that simple."

"Then explain to me why this was safer because you're not making any sense," Claire snapped.

Carina turned to the man. "Doctor, I think you'd better explain."

The Doctor cleared his throat. "Right, where to begin."

"The beginning." Claire said.

"Always a good place to start." The Doctor nodded. "Gets confusing if you start from the middle. Trust me, I've tried it before."

_Ron's right._ Claire thought to herself._ He really is looney._

"Anywho," The Doctor stared up at the ceiling. "Were those candles alway floating there? I could've swore that—"

"Doctor, you're getting off topic," Carina smacked his shoulder.

"Oy! Alright, the beginning," The Doctor cleared his throat. "Thirteen years ago a prophecy was made about you. It was right before your mother gave birth."

"What did the prophecy say?" Claire asked.

"_A girl of two races of magic and of time will be the demise of a man of time who hears the sound of drums._" The Doctor said. "However, we soon discovered that wasn't the entire prophecy—"

"Wait, hold a minute. A girl of _two_ races? What the heck does that mean? Are you_ sure_ that prophecy is talking about me?" Claire asked.

Carina and the Doctor exchanged looks before the Doctor spoke.

"Claire, I don't know if anyone told you but I'm not exactly human."

Claire furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean? You look human."

"I'm an alien," the Doctor said as if it were the most ordinary thing to say.

Claire laughed. "That's a good one. You can't be serious."

"It's true," Carina said. "That box over there is his spaceship. A—"

"Police box or _TARDIS_." Claire said, remembering what the journal had called it.

"How did you know—?" The Doctor was cut off when the doors to the Great Hall were thrown open.

It was Fudge with several Aurors, Dumbledore, and Snape. Claire noticed Lupin was missing._ I wonder where Lupin is? _She thought to herself. Shock spread across the Aurors' and Fudge's faces.

"No, it's _not_ possible!" Fudge said, shocked as he walked over to Pettigrew's paralyzed body.

"Believe it, Fudge!" Carina said. "My brother's innocent! Pettigrew was changed to the Secret-Keeper at the last minute and he staged his own murder."

Fudge scoff. "This is one of you and your brothers' tricks, isn't it, Carina?"

"Nope, I'll take Veritaserum if it'll make you happy." Carina said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"This could be the work of polyjuice potion," One of the Aurors said.

"Of course," Fudge exclaimed.

"Minister," Dumbledore said. "If it was the work of polyjuice potion where would they have gotten the hairs of a supposedly dead person?"

Fudge furrowed his eyebrows then looked at blue box. "That time machine box. She could've used it to go back and time and get the hairs!"

Fudge then looked at Claire and his eyes narrowed. "Or that girl! She was given a time-turner for her courses this year! She probably helped her parents and her uncle with this!" Fudge grabbed Claire's shoulders and shook them roughly. "Did you help with this, girl? Huh, did you?!"

"No!" Claire said, slightly afraid.

The Doctor grabbed Fudge's wrist roughly and glared at the man. "Get your hands _off_ my daughter!"

Fudge released his grip off of Claire's shoulders.

"There is only one way to prove this," came the monotone voice of Snape. "The counter-curse to polyjuice potion."

Snape raised his wand and shot a spell at Pettigrew. A white light engulfed Pettigrew before it disappeared. Pettigrew hadn't changed at all.

Snape glared harshly at Pettigrew. "It appears they are telling the truth Minister. If I were you I would reconsider a trial for Sirius Black."

Fudge looked enraged and turned to the Aurors. "Well, what are you waiting for? Take that man to Azkaban!"

The Aurors went over to Pettigrew's body and disapparated with it. Fudge then turned to Carina, the Doctor, and Claire.

Fudge cleared his throat. "I believe I should apologize."

_"You got that right,"_ Claire muttered, earning her a sharp glare from her mother._ Looks like I get that death glare from her._ She thought to herself.

"I assume my brother will have all charges removed then?" Carina said.

"Not just yet," Fudge said. "We will have a trial to make sure. And second of all we'll need to find your brother. After all, he did escape from Azkaban."

"You didn't even give Sirius a trial before!" Claire argued. "You just sent him to Azkaban!"

"Now, see here, young lady—"

"Minister, perhaps, instead of sending Black to Azkaban he could be put on house arrest," Dumbledore said. "There is substantial evidence here that he is truly innocent, unlike before. Besides, don't you think Miss Smith and Mr. Harry Potter deserve to spend time with Sirius?"

Fudge groaned. "Fine! But you'll have to find him first."

"That shouldn't be too hard," came the voice of Remus Lupin.

Remus walked into the Great Hall with none other than Sirius Black. Sirius could hardly believe his eyes as he set them on Carina. Carina too looked as though it were a dream. Carina ran to Sirius and almost tackled him into a hug.

"Sirius!" Carina exclaimed. "Look at you, you're—_flithy!_"

Sirius let out a laugh similar to a bark. "That tends to happen when you're on the run."

"Sirius!" Claire hugged him. "Did you hear they're putting you on house arrest? I know it's not the best thing but you're one step closer to being a free man!"

Sirius smiled.

"Sirius Black?" Fudge choked out.

Sirius glared at the man. "Fudge."

"I—I—" Fudge sputtered then released a breath. "I've had a long day. I'll need a Dizziness Draught when I get back to my office. Good day to you all."

Fudge disapparated.

"I think we broke him," Claire said.

"Not everyday you see a man come back to life and an Azkaban escapee," Lupin said.

"Got that right, Moony," Sirius grinned.

"I could go for a cup of tea," The Doctor said.

"Splendid idea. We have many things to discuss. My office?" Dumbledore said.

* * *

><p>The Gryffindor common room was buzzing with curiosity. Ron, Hermione, and Harry were seated around the fireplace with their food. Ron was scarfing down his food, while Harry and Hermione picked at theirs.<p>

_"Ron!"_ Hermione scolded him, slapping his shoulder. "How _can_ you be eating at a time like this?!"

"I eat when I'm nervous," Ron said swallowing his food.

"You_ always_ eat," Harry said.

"Why do you think Claire was told to stay behind?" Ron said, chewing a piece of chicken.

"Don't know," Harry shrugged.

Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed. "Are you two really that thick? Those were her parents! Don't you recognize them from her boggart incident."

Harry then remembered that incident in Professor Lupin's class.

"Why are they showing up now? And with Pettigrew I might add?" Harry said.

Hermione groaned. "Isn't it obvious? They're here to prove Sirius' innocence. I bet you any moment Claire will be coming through that portrait and telling us—"

"You guys! Guess what?" Claire had just came in through portrait.

"Blimey, Hermione!" Ron said. "Maybe Professor Trelawney_ was_ wrong about you not having the Inner Eye."

"What is it, Claire?" Harry said.

"Sirius is one step closer to a free man!" Claire said excitedly. "And guess what Harry? I talked to Dumbledore and he said that you only have to spend the first month of summer at the Dursley's!"

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Because you're living with Sirius and my parents at our house for the rest of summer!" Claire said.

Harry couldn't believe it. He only had to suffer one month with the Dursley's and then he'd be with his _real_ family.

"Wait a second," Ron said, dropping his fork. "Does that mean you're not staying at the Burrow anymore?"

"Awww," Claire teased, trying to pinch Ron's cheek, "is little Ronniekins gonna miss me?"

"N—No," Ron blushed red slightly, slapping her hand away.

Claire laughed. "Well, for your information I will be visiting the Burrow this summer. Our moms have to catch up after thirteen years."

"How are you holding up by the way?" Hermione asked. "You know, you're parents showing up out of the blue all of a sudden?"

"I'll admit I was pissed off at first." Claire said. "But we talked and well it won't be a normal family relationship, it'll never be normal."

"Why?" Harry asked.

Claire bit her lip hesitantly.

"What is it?" Ron questioned.

"I'm part alien," Claire said.

* * *

><p><em>I had horrible writer's block for this chapter! Not to mention I had SAT's this week and I was stressing out! Hopefully I made a 1600 or higher! Anyway, I was trying to figure out the dialogue and everything and now it's done! How do you think Harry, Hermione, and Ron will react to Claire being part alien? They'll be one-two chapters more I think after this. Anyway, thank you for all of those who continue to review and favorite this story. IT MEANS THE WORLD TO ME! Thank you to the new follower: egastin77! BTW: I don't know if you all noticed but I changed the book covers for books 1-3. I made them on polyvore and I hope you like them. I have book covers up to book 7 posted on my polyvore account. <em>

_Reply to Reviews: _

_crossMIRAGE19: Claire didn't like it at all you could feel her pent up parent issues resurfacing. I think she did have a right to be mad at them because she was left in the dark about why they left. BTW: I LOVE THE BARTON SAGA! It's one of my favorite HP Fanfics! Anya is an amazing character! _

_NicoleR85: Glad you liked it! And Sirius is sort of a free man. House arrest is better than Azkaban._

_Cerulean F. Revelle: Thank you and I did make you wait. Longer than I intended too but that was because I caught a nasty case of writer's block._

_Themarauders21: Me too! I was squealing when I wrote the last chapter._

_Timewalker: Thank you, I appreciate it! You'll see why in the next book why her parents return now._

_Teckie De Cool: Thank you! I hope you're alright from your fangirl attack!_

_Natekleh: Yea, you'll see in the next book why he's attacking the way he is. DRAMA IS COMING!_

_WhovianGeronimo: You've made my day! _

_Rukia-chappy: Neither can I!_

_Guest: Thank you! And yep I couldn't resist naming the chapter YELLING AT BOXES I thought it was a cute title. The tenth doctor is Claire's dad._

_drenchthedoctor: That's a good idea but I didn't use it because I wanted Claire to get in a row with her parents._


	24. Proof

Chapter 24: Proof

"I'm part alien," Claire said.

"Bloody hell!" Ron said in shock. "That's brilliant!"

"But that's impossible!" Hermione said. "You don't look alien and besides aliens don't exist."

"I'm _part_ alien, Hermione. And apparently they do exist. I know it's hard to believe, but I can show you something that will prove it. Follow me." Claire said, heading toward the portrait.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed Claire out of the portrait and to the Great Hall. Claire's parents were talking with Sirius, Remus, and Dumbledore. Harry, Ron, and Hermione noticed the resemblance between Claire and her parents. Claire had the same hair and eye color as her father, but the same curly hair and facial features as her mother. Carina then spotted the kids and said, "What are you four doing here?"

"To prove to Hermione that I'm part alien," Claire said simply.

The Doctor smiled. "Ah, of course! Most people don't believe in aliens. I find it ironic when the—what do you call them, juggles?—"

"Muggles, dear," Carina corrected him.

"Right, the people you call muggles think magic doesn't exist, yet here we are." The Doctor said. "Not to mention less than 50 years ago, people were crazy if they believed that man would one day walk on the moon. And yet Neil Armstrong stepped foot onto the moon July 20, 1969. The point is most of the things in the world were declared impossible before they happened."

"But this is completely different," Hermione argued.

"How so?" The Doctor furrowed his eyebrows.

"Because—well—I don't know. It just is," Hermione said.

The Doctor walked over to the TARDIS. "Well, I'm going to prove to you that aliens are real. In fact, your looking at one right now."

"Wait, you're an alien?" Hermione gasped.

"Yep, I'm called the Doctor. A Timelord. Last of my kind. Home planet of Gallifrey." The Doctor said with a sort of sorrow look in his eyes. "Anyway, this is my handy-dandy, wibbly, wobbly, timey, wimey time-traveling machine. TARDIS: Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. C'mon in and have a look!"

The Doctor threw open the doors and Hermione, Ron, and Harry were able to see that it was bigger on the inside. They all stared in awe.

"It's bigger on the inside!" Hermione said in shock.

"I get that a lot," The Doctor said.

"Bloody hell!" Ron stared at the giant control panel in the middle of the vast interior. "What do all these switches do?"

Ron was about to flick one of the switches when the Doctor slapped his hand away.

"DON'T TOUCH IT!" The Doctor said as though the place would explode if Ron had pulled the switch (which was likely).

Ron withdrew is hand quickly. "Why not?"

"You could've caused an explosion and I'm the only one who can press the buttons." The Doctor said. "Alright, so now you've seen it. Out, out, out!"

The Doctor ushered them out.

"So—wait what are your names?" The Doctor asked Hermione, Ron, and Harry.

"That's Harry, Ron, and Hermione," Claire said pointing to each of them.

"Alright, so now do you believe?" The Doctor said.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron nodded.

"Wait, you said your name was the Doctor," Hermione began, "but Claire's father's name was John Smith."

"Oh, that. John Smith is sort of my undercover name." The Doctor said.

"So, it's a fake name." Claire said.

"When you say it like that you make it sound like I'm a criminal," The Doctor said.

"You know, you don't look like an alien," Ron said. "The way the muggles portray you, you're supposed to be all gray with big bug eyes and big heads."

"You got one out of three right," Carina teased. "He may not be gray or have big eyes, but he definitely is big-headed."

Everyone laughed except for the Doctor.

"I am not big-headed." The Doctor complained.

Carina rolled her eyes. "You keep believing that."

Carina then turned her daughter and her daughter's friends.

"Hello, I'm Claire's mom. Look at you, Ron," Carina said looking at Ron. "The last time I saw you you were a few months old. You look exactly like Molly and Arthur. Same red hair. Runs in the family on both your parents side."

"Wish I could've been a ginger," The Doctor muttered.

Carina then turned to Hermione. "Claire said your name was Hermione, right?" Hermione nodded. "It's nice to meet you."

Carina then turned to Harry. "I'd recognize those eyes anywhere. Harry, it's so good to see you. Spitting image of Lily and James, but of course you probably hear that all the time. It must get quite annoying so I'll stop rambling. I'm sure Claire told you the plans for summer am I correct?"

"Yes, um—"

"You can call me Carina," Carina said.

"Yes, Carina," Harry answered. "Claire did tell me about it."

Carina smiled. "Good."

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "I hate to break this apart, but it's an hour past curfew. Harry if you'd stay for a few minutes I need to discuss something with you before you leave."

Harry nodded and walked off with Dumbledore. Carina turned to the three remaining friends.

"You all should probably get some sleep. However, Claire can I speak to you for a few minutes?" Carina said.

Claire nodded. Ron and Hermione walked out.

"What did you need to talk about?" Claire asked.

"Your father, uncle, and I are leaving right after you and Harry go back to Gryffindor tower. Don't worry though, we're just going to Grimmauld Place. That's where your uncle and I grew up. I'll be picking you up when you arrive at Kings Cross." Carina explained.

"Alright," Claire said.

"Claire, I know that your father and I haven't been the best of parents. But what matters is we're here now and we're going to be with you until the very end, got it?" Carina said.

Claire nodded. "But wait, earlier you were talking about the prophecy and how that's the reason you left because there was someone after me. You said it'd be dangerous if you came back. Why'd you come back then?"

"Because it's safe now." Carina said simply. "The man who was after you is gone. Your father and I defeated him and that's why we came back. It's a good thing to because we came just in time to save Sirius."

"How did you find Pettigrew by the way?" Claire asked.

"That's a story we'll save for when we see each other again. It's getting late. Why don't you head back? It seems Harry's finished talking with Dumbledore." Carina said looking over at Dumbledore and Harry. Harry had just started walking to the door.

"Ok, good night. See you soon." Claire said.

Claire caught up to Harry.

"So, what did Dumbledore talk about?" Claire asked.

"He was telling me about how he discovered how our parents began Animagi and about me performing a Patronus on the dementors." Harry said. "What did your mom want?"

"Telling me about how her, my father, and my uncle were leaving to go to Grimmauld Place. That's apparently our new home." Claire said. "I bet you're thrilled that you don't have to spend the whole summer with the Dursleys."

"That's an understatement." Harry scoffed.

"We'll be a big old happy family, Harry," Claire smiled.

"Yea," Harry smiled back.

* * *

><p><em>One chapter left!<em>

_Reply to Reviews:_

_Rainpelt the Doctor: I hate when they decide to give us major test like that one after the other. I have a whole bunch of tests this week because the week after next is spring break. I hope you did well on your SATs and PARCCs._

_Natekleh: Hermione seemed to be the one who was denying it, but Harry and Ron seemed to sort of go along with it. Hermione is very logical and has to see proof in order to believe hence why Divination didn't work out for her._

_NicoleR85: Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!_

_Ghostwriter71: I'm glad you liked the plot twist. I had that planned since book one. I was so excited when I got to write that bit. It seems people really didn't expect it. I made little foreshadows and hints throughout this book for Claire's parents return. _

_Rukia-chappy: Right. It was sort of awkward to right to because I was trying to make it as realistic as possible._

_Timewalker: I'm sorry the last chapter took so long. I was just trying to make the dialogue realistic. Claire isn't completely over the whole abandonment by her parents thing yet. It'll come up later on in the next book. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter though._

_Teckie De Cool: Thank you! I really enjoy writing Carina's character. She's supposed to be badass. I mean she is Sirius's twin who is also pretty badass. I'm glad you like Carina. There'll be more of her in the next book._

_WhovianGeronimo: I hope did well on your mock GSCE. Do you get the results back so you know what you have to study? And I'm honored that you think of my story as your favorite!_


	25. Summer Plans

Chapter 25: Summer Plans

The whole school soon learned of the events that had transpired after the unusual appearance of a blue police box and a not-so-dead Pettigrew. The _Daily Prophet_ seemed to report heavily on the incident saying that Black was more than likely never the murderer and in fact it was Pettigrew. Fudge made a statement saying Sirius Black was going to have a trial and was put on house arrest until the trial.

The last few weeks of term passed very quickly. Professor Lupin had indeed left causing many students to be disappointed and wonder what next year teacher would be. Dean Thomas suggested it would be a vampire.

Claire and Harry were excited for the approaching summer. Harry wouldn't have to deal with the Dursleys the whole summer and Claire was actually going to get to know her parents and uncle. When Claire told Ron's brothers and sister that she wasn't going to be coming home with them, they seemed to be disappointed.

"I'll be the only girl in the house!" Ginny exclaimed.

"There's still your mom," Claire said.

"Oh, you know what I mean," Ginny said.

Claire was then engulfed in a hug by the twins. The twins were fake sobbing and the students nearby were watching the scene.

"Who ever will we use to help with our pranks now?!" George said.

"We'll miss our little Claire-bear!" Fred said through his fake sobs.

Claire was able to get free from their hug.

"Would you _stop_ calling me that? My name is Claire. Just Claire." Claire said a bit annoyed. "And I'm sure Ginny wouldn't mind taking over. Besides, you're acting like we'll never see each other again. Just because I'm living somewhere else doesn't mean that I'm not going to visit you."

"So, you'll be visiting this summer, right?" Ginny asked.

"Of course, I'm not going to leave you all summer to suffer with those idiots," Claire teased pointing her finger at the twins.

"That hurts Claire," Fred said putting a hand over his heart. "Right in here."

Claire rolled her eyes.

"I heard from Hermione that Harry will be staying with you, your uncle, and parents. Is it true?" Ginny asked.

Claire nodded. The twins didn't seem to thrilled by this idea.

"Why is Harry living with you?" Fred said.

"Do you not remember two summers ago when we had to rescue him because there were bars on his window? Harry only has to stay with the Dursleys for the first month of summer and then he's coming to my house for the rest." Claire explained.

"I still don't like the idea of you two living under the same roof," Fred said. "We don't need little Claires and Harrys running around."

Claire groaned. "For the last time, Harry and I are just friends! Besides, after that traumatizing talk with your mom about the birds and bees I don't think I'll ever do anything like that."

"And don't forget, Claire already has a boyfriend." Ginny said.

"Actually, Jason and I, well we sort of had a fall out, I guess," Claire said, remembering her conversation with Jason.

The twins look enraged.

"What?" George said furiously. "What did he do to you?"

Claire glared at both the twins. "It doesn't matter. Just don't even think about doing anything to him. That means you two can't do it, you can't hire anyone to do it, you can't trick someone, and anything else that could lead to you two telling someone to pull a prank on him. Got it?"

The twins crossed their arms and pouted. "Fine."

"I'm sorry, Claire," Ginny apologized. "I wouldn't have brought it up if I'd known."

"It's alright, no big deal," Claire shrugged. "It wouldn't have worked out anyway."

"You're a nice person, Claire. If he can't realize that then he wasn't the one. I'm sure you'll find someone better one day," Ginny said.

"You better not," The twins muttered.

Ginny and Claire rolled their eyes.

"Same to you, Ginny," Claire said. "Now, I better go start packing. After all, tomorrow's the last day. See you three later."

The next day at breakfast, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Claire got their exam results back.

"Oh, I do hope I didn't fail the Defense Against the Dark Arts exam," Hermione fretted as she got her letter.

"I'm sure you did fine, Hermione," Claire said.

"Shall we open them?" Hermione said.

"All together on the count of three," Claire said. "One…two….three!"

The four of them tore open the letters. Claire unfolded her exam results.

_End Of Term Report_

_Student: Claire Smith_

_House: Gryffindor_

_Year: 3_

_Wand: 12 inches, Cypress, Acacia, and Ebony Wood, Dragon Heartstring, Unicorn Hair, and Phoenix Feather core_

_Pass Grades_

_Outstanding O_

_Exceeds Expectations E_

_Acceptable A_

_Fail Grades_

_Poor P_

_Dreadful D_

_Troll T_

_Charms **O**_

_Defense Against the Dark Arts **O**_

_Herbology **O**_

_History of Magic **O**_

_Care of Magical Creatures **O**_

_Transfiguration **O**_

_Potions **O**_

_Divination **O**_

_Muggle Studies **O**_

_Congratulations on making straight O's. You qualify for skipping a year. Talk to Professor McGonagall for more information._

"So, how'd you do?" Hermione asked.

"Pretty good," Claire said.

"Let me see," Hermione said trying to take the letter.

"No, Hermione—"

Hermione snatched Claire's letter and was shocked.

"Look at this!" Hermione thrusted the report card to Harry and Ron. "She's made _straight_ _O's_!"

Harry and Ron gaped at Claire's report card. Claire tore the letter away from them.

"You're making a big deal out of nothing." Claire said, stuffing her report card in her bag.

"Claire you made straight O's! That's incredible!" Hermione said.

Claire shrugged. "Still don't think it's that big of a deal. Anyways, I'm going to talk to Professor McGonagall about next year. I'll see you three on the train."

"I'll come to. I have to talk to Professor McGonagall as well," Hermione said.

* * *

><p>As the Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station later that day, Hermione and Claire told Harry and Ron about their schedules next year.<p>

"Professor McGonagall gave me the option of skipping a few grades next year but I turned it down." Claire said.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"I'd rather stay with you guys then skip a few grades. Besides, that means I'd have to think of a career earlier. I have no clue what I want to be yet. However, I asked her if I could take certain subjects a grade level higher and she let me. I'm taking seventh year Herbology and sixth year History of Magic." Claire said.

"How did you manage to skip four years of Herbology and two years of History of Magic?" Ron asked.

"I scored extremely high on both of the exams and Professor McGonagall said she'd place me in those classes." Claire said.

"We also told Professor McGonagall that we're going to drop Muggle Studies." Hermione said.

"But you both passed your exam with three hundred and twenty percent!" Ron said.

"I know," Hermione sighed, "but I can't stand another year like this one. Without Muggles Studies and Divination, I'll be able to have a normal schedule again."

"I agree with Hermione and I only had one extra class. I don't know how you made it through the year. We both turned in our Time-Turners." Claire said.

"I still can't _believe_ you two didn't tell us about it," Ron said grumpily. "We're supposed to be your _friends_."

"We promised we wouldn't tell_ anyone_," Hermione said severely.

Just then, the compartment door opened and the twins and Ginny came in.

"What are you doing here?" Ron questioned.

"Getting away from Percy," The three of them said in unison.

"Let me guess," Claire began, "He's been bragging about his top-grade N.E.W.T.s."

"Big-headed git," Fred muttered.

"How'd you four do on your exams?" George asked.

"Claire got straight O's," Hermione said.

"What?" Ginny said.

"Yea, she did so well that she's taking seventh year Herbology next year and sixth year History of Magic," Ron said.

"You'll be in our History of Magic class next year!" Fred said.

"Oh, great," Claire muttered.

"How many O.W.L.s did you two get?" Ron asked.

"Six," The twin said in unison.

"Is that total or each?" Hermione asked.

"Total," they said in unison.

"Wow, I'm surprised. I thought the both of you would've gotten more," Claire said. "I'm glad that I'm not going back to the Burrow with you guys. Hope you two don't value your ears because I'm pretty sure after Mrs. Weasley yells at you you're not going to be able to hear anything for the rest of the summer."

"Fred and I always thought we should get an E in everything, because we exceeded expectations for just turning up for the exams," George said.

"Is that an owl?" Ginny said pointing towards the window.

Something very small and gray was bobbing up and out of sight beyond the glass. Harry stood up for a better look and saw that Ginny was right. It was a tiny owl, carrying a letter that was much too big for it. The owl was so small, in fact, that it kept tumbling over in the air, buffeted this way and that in the train's slipstream. Harry quickly pulled down the window, stretched out his arm, and caught it. It felt like a very fluffy Snitch. He brought it carefully inside. The owl dropped the letter onto Harry's seat and began zooming around their compartment, apparently very pleased with itself for accomplishing its task. Hedwig clicked her beak with a sort of dignified disapproval. Crookshanks sat up in his seat, following the owl with his great yellow eyes. Ron, noticing this, snatched the owl safely out of harm's way.

Harry picked up the letter. It was addressed to him. He ripped open the letter, and shouted, "It's from Sirius!"

"What?" Claire, Ron, and Hermione said excitedly. "Read it aloud!"

_Dear Harry,_

_I hope this finds you before you reach your aunt and uncle. I don't know whether they're used to owl post. _

_Carina, the Doctor, Buckbeak, and I are all at Grimmauld Place. We can't wait to have you over for the summer. Claire told us about the Dursleys and if they ever try anything you know who to write. Perhaps you should tell them that a mass murderer is your godfather. Even when I'm announced as innocent this will still intimidated them._

_There is something I never got around to telling you during our brief meeting. It was I who sent you the Firebolt (also I sent Claire that record player and vinyl)—_

"Ha!" Hermione said triumphantly. "See! I told you it was from him!"

"Yes, but he hadn't jinxed it, had he?" Ron said. "Ouch!" The tiny owl, now hooting happily in his hand, had nibbled one of his fingers in what it seemed to think was an affectionate way.

_Crookshanks took the order to the Owl Office for me. I used your name but told them to take the gold from my own Gringotts vault. Please consider it as thirteen birthdays' worth of presents from your godfather._

_I would also like to apologize for the fright I think I gave you that night last year when you left your uncle's house. I had only hoped to get a glimpse of you before starting my journey north, but I think the sight of me alarmed you._

_I am enclosing something else for you, which I think will make your next year at Hogwarts more enjoyable._

_If you ever need me, send word. Just send it to Grimmauld Place._

_See you this summer._

_Sirius_

Harry looked eagerly inside the envelope. There was another piece of parchment in there. He read it through quickly and felt suddenly as warm and contented as though he'd swallowed a bottle of hot butterbeer in one gulp.

_I, Sirius Black, Harry Potter's godfather, hereby give him permission to visit Hogsmeade on weekends._

"Looks like we won't have to do anymore illegal trips to Hogsmeade, Harry," Claire said.

"Hang on," Harry said looking back at the letter. "There's a P.S…."

_I thought your friend Ron might like to keep this owl, as it's my fault he no longer has a rat._

Ron's eyes widened. The minute owl was still hooting excitedly.

"Keep him?" he said uncertainly. He looked closely at the owl for a moment; then, to Harry's, Claire's, and Hermione's great surprise, he held him out for Crookshanks to sniff.

"What d'you reckon?" Ron asked the cat. "Definitely an owl?"

Crookshanks purred.

"That's good enough for me," Ron said happily. "He's mine."

The train was getting closer to the platform now.

"It won't be the same at the Burrow without you, Claire," Ginny said sadly.

"I told you I'll be visiting. You can't get rid of me that easily," Claire replied.

"You know," Ron said. "The Quidditch World Cup is this summer! Dad can usually get tickets from work. Harry, Claire you two can come and maybe even your parents and uncle Claire."

"That sounds great," Harry said, as the train pulled into Platform 9 and 3/4.

They all got off the train with their belongings and went through the barrier of platform 9 and 3/4. They spotted Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Claire's mom. Mrs. Weasley started to hug each and everyone of them.

"Oh, Claire, we'll miss you very much," Mrs. Weasley practically strangled Claire in hug.

"Same with you Mrs. Weasley," Claire said.

"I'll owl you two about the World Cup," Ron said to Claire and Harry.

"What's that?" Harry's Uncle Vernon had just showed up and was staring at Sirius' letter in Harry's hand. "If it's another form for me to sign, you've got another—"

"It's not," Harry said cheerfully. "It's a letter from my godfather."

"Godfather?" Uncle Vernon sputtered. "You haven't got a godfather!"

"Yes, I have," Harry said brightly. "He was my mum and dad's best friend. He's a convicted murderer, but he's broken out of wizard prison and he's on the run. He likes to keep in touch with me, though…keep up with my news…check if I'm happy…"

"He's also my uncle." Claire said.

"And my brother." Carina had stepped forward and Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia seemed to recognize her.

_"You!"_ Aunt Petunia said in shock.

"Hello, Petunia. Still as horrid as ever I see." Carina spat.

"That's my wife you're talking to," Uncle Vernon snapped, but you could see fear in his eyes.

"And of course, a hello to you too, Vernon," Carina glanced at the Dudley. "This must be your son. Dudley, was it?"

Dudley hid behind his mother in fear.

"C'mon along, boy," Vernon snapped at Harry.

"Actually," Carina said, smiling a sickly sweet smile at Vernon and Petunia. "I would like to have a few words with both of you before you leave. First off, that boy there has a name. His name is Harry and if you two harm him in anyway, I can assure you my brother will not be the only one coming after your sorry behinds. Second off, Harry will only be spending one month with you this summer. He'll be staying with me the rest of the summer. So as hard as it must be to treat him right for a month do try or you'll be sorry."

Carina then turned to Harry. "Harry, if they do anything to you just owl Claire, Sirius, or me and we'll take care of it. Got it?"

"Yes, thank you," Harry said smiling brightly at his aunt and uncle's fearful expressions.

"C-C'mon along, boy-Harry," Petunia stuttered.

Harry couldn't help but think this was going to be a much better summer than the last.

* * *

><p>"Where's dad?" Claire asked as she walked with her mom.<p>

"He's at Grimmauld Place. Working on the TARDIS." Carina said.

"Where exactly is Grimmauld Place?" Claire asked.

"Not very far. Oh, here we are," Carina said, stopping. "Hold on, read this and memorize it,"

Carina handed Claire a piece of paper that read:

_12 Grimmauld Place_

When Claire memorized it the paper lit itself on fire and disintegrated. Claire looked up and saw that there was an 11 Grimmauld Place and a 13 Grimmauld Place but no 12.

"But where's—?" Claire asked.

"Just think about what you just read," Carina said.

Claire did just that, and no sooner had she reached the part about number twelve, Grimmauld Place, than a battered door emerged out of nowhere between eleven and thirteen, followed swiftly by dirty walls and grimy windows. It was as though an extra house had inflated, pushing those on either side out of its way.

"What was the purpose of that?" Claire asked.

"So no one can find this place. All the Pureblood families' houses have security like this," Carina said. "Now, c'mon on. Your father and Sirius are waiting to see you."

They climbed the worn stone steps. The front door was black, but the paint was shabby and scratched. The silver door knocker was in the form of a twisted serpent. There was no keyhole or letterbox.

Carina pulled out her wand and tapped the door once. Claire heard many loud, metallic clicks and what sounded like the clatter of a chain. The door creaked open.

"Welcome home!" Carina went in first, Claire following behind.

Claire could smell damp, dust, and a sweetish, rotting smell; the place had the feeling of a derelict building. Claire coughed as she inhaled a piece of dust.

"Well," Claire coughed. "This place has really let itself go."

"It hasn't been occupied for thirteen years," Sirius had just walked into the room.

"Really?" Claire said sarcastically. "Would've never guess."

"I'm not exactly thrilled that we have to stay here either," Sirius said staring grumpily at the peeling wallpaper on the walls.

Carina rolled her eyes. "You two need to stop being so depressing. Sure, this wouldn't be my first choice to live but with a little elbow grease this place will look brand-new."

"A little elbow grease?" Claire said disbelieving. "Even the dust has dust!"

_BANG! _

"What was that?" Claire asked.

Carina groaned. "Your father. Doctor! What the hell are you doing?"

The Doctor came into the room with his face completely black.

"I might've miscalculated something when I was rewiring the TARDIS." The Doctor said.

Carina rolled her eyes and left the room. She soon returned with a bunch of cleaning supplies.

"Well, you're taking a break from the TARDIS and your helping us clean up this place," Carina said, shoving a mop in his hand.

"Wait, what do you mean us?" Claire said.

"I meant exactly what I said," Carina said, giving Claire a broom and dustpan. "We're spending the entire summer cleaning up this place,"

"You're kidding me, right?"

* * *

><p><em>And the third book is finished! Fourth year is coming with a bunch of drama, romance, family times, and adventures! I can't wait to start it! I hope you all enjoy the series so far. Continue to review, favorite, and follow. Thank you for all your support of this series it makes my day whenever I get a new follower or review! The next book should be out within a week to two weeks.<em>

_Rainpelt the Doctor: Here's the next chapter!_


	26. BOOK FOUR IS OUT!

BOOK FOUR'S OUT!


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